In the prairie, after the rain

  

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) in the coastal prairie, 31 March 2022

In the Bodega Bay area, Whimbrel are often observed in marine and estuarine habitats — sandy beaches, mudflats, rocky shores.  But sometimes, especially when the ground is wet after rain, we'll see them feeding in the grassland.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if it reminds them of the tundra habitat that they'll spend time in during the breeding season?

 

 

 

Beach hoppers for brunch

  

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) feeding on amphipods (beach hoppers) at Salmon Creek Beach. 

 

 

 

Spending the summer?

Mid-June is probably one of the least likely times to see a Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) in Bodega Bay.  Most of them are much farther north at this time, nesting in the Arctic.

When you see a Whimbrel in mid-late June, it's probably either a non-breeding individual that didn't migrate north, or one that's returning from the breeding grounds very early.  I'm guessing this is the former, as its feathers are very worn and tattered, as if it didn't complete a molt into breeding plumage.

Photographed in Bodega Bay on 22 June 2019.

 

Two of eight

 

Two of eight Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) resting in Bodega Harbor on 20 June 2018.

 

Whimbrel and friends

 

 

 

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) and Sanderlings (Calidris alba), 28 April 2018

 

Should I stay...

...or should I go?

 

Two Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) deciding whether or not to flee the flying foam during stormy conditions today.

Here's another example of the flying foam:

 

And the sunset over stormy seas.  The swell is predicted to be over 20 feet tomorrow!

 

Looking sharp

 

Juvenile Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

 

Juvenile Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

Both photographed on Salmon Creek Beach on 5 September 2016.

Early birds

Just a quick note to document the early return of Whimbrel to our area.  I photographed this flock of eight on Salmon Creek Beach on 27 June 2015.  These are early migrants — the first individuals returning from the northern breeding grounds.  (Most don't start appearing in the Bodega Bay area until July.)

In western North America, Whimbrel nest in subarctic and arctic areas of Alaska and Yukon Territory.  They winter from British Columbia to Chile, with most birds south of San Francisco Bay.  

 

High count

  

Eric and I came across a large flock of Whimbrel on Salmon Creek Beach tonight.  In fact, it was the largest number of Whimbrel I've seen since moving here in 2005.

I didn't manage to photograph all of them in one picture.  However, I came relatively close, documenting about 2/3 of them.  If you'd like to count yourself, here's one picture with a good number of Whimbrel.  You can click on the picture for a larger version. (I'll reveal the count below the image.)

 

There are 42 Whimbrel in the picture above.  There's one "trick" bird that you have to ignore — a Marbled Godwit, about 5 birds in from the left side (feeding in the wet sand).  I counted 20 more Whimbrel in addition to the individuals in this image, for a total of 62 birds tonight.

I wondered how this number compared to other high counts in Sonoma County.  Below I've listed the top five high counts for Whimbrel as recorded in the Birds of Sonoma County California:

- 165 on 4/29/96 at Shollenberger Park
- 100 on 4/29/89 at a wet field near Petaluma
- 88 on 5/3/03 at a pond near Carmody Road
- 50+ on 7/5/81 at Bodega Harbor
- 50+ on 4/24/99 at the Bodega Farm Pond

You can see that the 62 birds we documented tonight is a fairly high count for the County.

There have been an abundance of Mole Crabs on Salmon Creek Beach this year, and I'm guessing the number of birds frequenting the area might be related to this food source.  (We saw at least two Whimbrel catch Mole Crabs while we were there.)

 

Rough seas

 

A few images to capture the storm today.  At the time (around noon), waves were about 16 feet, and the wind was blowing at about 20 knots (23 mph) from the south. 

 

Average wave period was about 8.5 seconds.

 

 

I dashed out when the rain was lighter, but for the record, it looks like we received about 4.5 inches of rain on Bodega Head during the last 24 hours.

When the coastal prairie is flooded and the rocky shore is unavailable due to high surf, we often see shorebirds roosting and feeding among prairie vegetation.  It's always fun to see Whimbrel and Black Turnstones surrounded by Seaside Daisies.

 

 

P.S.  I can't help mentioning that the ocean temperature is still remarkably high.  Today it was 15.3°C (59.5°F).

Touching down

 

 

 

 

 

Seventeen Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) touching down on Salmon Creek Beach, 26 March 2014.

Curlew up close

 

Earlier this month I spent a little time observing a young Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) on the outer coast of Bodega Head.  These are a few of my favorite images from that day.

 

 

 

 

There were a couple of adult Whimbrel nearby.  Occasionally one would call in response to the younger bird's approach.  This is a different call than the typical flight call of a Whimbrel — more of rolling trill:

whim1 by nhbh


P.S.  A Whimbrel is a type of curlew, and used to be known as a Hudsonian Curlew. 
 

Whimbrel

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus).  Numenius means "new moon", apparently after the crescent-shaped bill.  

A beautiful curlew, relatively common on Bodega Head rocky shores in winter (although not in large numbers); may also be seen on sandy beaches and tidal flats.  Often feeding with other shorebirds, such as Black Oystercatchers, Surfbirds, and Black Turnstones.

 

After rain, they sometimes feed in upland sites along the bluffs or in the grassland.

This one caught a porcelain crab (Petrolisthes sp.).  Look closely for the crab near the tip of the bill.  There aren't many other birds that could reach a porcelain crab deep within the mussel bed!