I'll write more about this soon, but for now I'm sharing a photo of a Surfbird (Calidris virgata) eating a By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella). Photographed on Bodega Head on 21 March 2026.
Stopped briefly on the way to work this morning (20 November 2025) to photograph a couple of Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius). They were feeding along Westshore Road near a raft of sea lettuce (Ulva sp.)
A quick shot of Marbled Godwits in end-of-the-day light in Bodega Harbor on 3 October 2025. [You can click on the image for a larger version.]
New oystercatcher chick with mom, 27 June 2025
[You can click on the photo for a larger version. Note that the chick has a short, brownish bill and mostly gray feathers.]
Black Oystercatcher nest, 12 June 2025
(Photo taken with a zoom lens from a distance and then cropped.)
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) with Sea Palms (Postelsia palmaeformis) in the background, 31 May 2025.
Last week I was watching a small group of Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) along the shore of Bodega Harbor. At first they were resting, but then they started feeding among the cobbles, actively flipping stones in search of prey.
Below is a short video clip showing the active turning-stone behavior. [At ~12 seconds, a Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) enters the frame from the right.]
The turnstones appeared to be quite successful finding prey. Sometimes it was hard to tell what they captured, but several times I could see small shore crabs in their bills:
Part of a large flock of shorebirds in Bodega Harbor this morning (21 January 2025) -- mostly Sanderling (Calidris alba) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina), with some Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) and Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) mixed in.
During a break in the rain this afternoon (22 November 2024), I noticed a couple of Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius) at the north end of Bodega Harbor — blown in from offshore by the recent storm.
I didn't have a lot of time, but as I was leaving work tonight there was nice light on the shorebirds in Bodega Harbor. I'm always a fan of pictures that make it easy to compare species, so here's one with three species of sandpipers. Can you find all three?
Most of them are Sanderlings (Calidris alba) -- there are a dozen of them, the palest of the three species.
On the right side of the photo, in the foreground and background, there are two Dunlin (Calidris alpina) -- they're a little bit larger, with a little bit longer bill, and much browner coloration.
And the last one? In the foreground the 4th bird from the left is a Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) -- the smallest of the three species, darker than Sanderlings but lighter than the Dunlin.
European Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) roosting along a rocky shore in Iceland on 6 September 2024. The plovers matched the colors of the rockweeds so well that it was hard to see them. [You can click on the image for a larger version.]
P.S. We’re on an adventure to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday, so there might be a few posts from afar!
A few more miscellaneous bird photos from Hawai'i for you...
Above, a kōlea, or Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), all dressed up for the breeding season and departing soon for the Arctic tundra.
Thanks for tuning in for some special guests from Hawai'i!
Field work has been keeping us busy, but here's a Long-billed Curlew with golden reflections from Point Reyes on 24 November 2023.
Juvenile Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) in Bodega Bay on 28 September 2023.
