HALIFAX RIVER AUDUBON
A Florida Chapter of the National Audubon Society
Serving greater Daytona Beach area
Founded 1923

 

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT:  February 17-20, 2012.  Help scientists create a snapshot of where birds are located throughout the country.  It's free, easy and fun.  See details at  http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

February 3, 2012...  Merritt Island NWR continues to be a reliable source of up close and personal opportunities to view wintering shorebirds, ducks and waders.  John Roessler  had his camera ready when we stopped at the beach just beyond the bridge to find a Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, picking in the wrack line, apparently unconcerned about multiple humans watching his/her every move.  The bird remained close enough for everyone to view field marks, even without binoculars.  One of four Godwits found in North America, the Marbled Godwit nests near grassy marshes and is found on beaches, mudflats and shallow pools, walking and probing the mud with their long, bi-colored bills.  At 18 inches tall, with a 30-inch wingspan, the Marbled Godwit is a large member of the sandpiper group.  They breed mainly on northern Great Plains in the summer and return to coastal regions during the remainder of the year, sometimes roosting in large groups.  They feed on a diet of insects, mollusks and crustaceans.  While foraging, they may probe deeply enough into the mud that their entire head is underwater. 

A Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres, forages to the right of the Marbled Godwit.  Note the orange leg, white underbelly and dark chest band that is just barely visible in the photo.  This chunky, short-legged sandpiper sports a bright harlequin pattern on his back in the summer when it breeds high in the Arctic tundra.  In migration, it is found mostly along the coast, although large numbers are sometimes found inland, especially along the Great Lakes.  Winter habitat favors rocky coastlines or beaches covered with seaweed or debris where they forage by slipping their bills under stones or shells and flip them over to find food underneath.  Several birds may work together to overturn larger objects.  Winter diet includes barnacles, crabs, mollusks, worms, small fish and even carrion or food scraps left by human visitors.

Facts in the text above were found in Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman and The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley.