Doran Beach birds

A few bird photos from Doran Beach on 25 March 2012.

Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) roosting among new shoots of Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima).

 

Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus) and Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) resting among four beach plants — Beach Bur-sage (Ambrosia chamissonis), Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima), European Beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria), and Beach Saltbush (Atriplex leucophylla).

Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

 

Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri)

 

Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) with Point Reyes in the background — visible from left to right are the mouth of Tomales Bay, Tomales Point, and Bird Rock.  Although it's about 11 km (6.8 miles) across Bodega Bay (from Bodega Head to Tomales Point), it often feels closer!