Paintings of Sanderlings

Shortly after I did the post a few weeks ago on the Sanderling who "forgot to run," I remembered I had a drawing in my sketchbook of two Sanderlings I did back in March when we were in Captiva for spring break. Since Sanderlings are one of my favorite shore birds, I decided to do a series of practice paintings from that sketch. I concentrated on the two poses I had captured in the drawing...with lots of variations!

Painting 186. Sanderlings Foraging

Watercolor (12x16)

Painting 185. Captiva Sanderlings

Watercolor (9x12)

Pencil drawing of Sanderlings from my sketchbook (Captiva Island, March 2011). Florida birds are so amazing. Just sit and watch, and they will come right up to you!

Painting 184. Sanderling in Black and Blue

Watercolor (9x12)

Painting 183. Sanderling Pose 1...Again

Watercolor (9x12)

Painting 182. Sanderling Pose 2

Watercolor (7x10)

Painting 181. Sanderling in Orange (my favorite)

Oil Pastel (7x10)

Painting 180. Sanderling Pose 1

Watercolor (7x10)

...these are all quick studies and practices to help me get familiar with the bird. I only get to study them when I go on vacation to the ocean (which is never enough...). Eventually I'm going to work up to a complete painting where I concentrate on value and light. Until then, it's sweet and simple. My favorites are 181, 182, 184 and 186. I continue to plug away on the 100 Painting Challenge. I'm right on schedule. I should reach 100 by Dec 31. (This is my second year of a five-year 500 painting challenge.) If you want to see other Sanderling posts, click here.

...he forgot to run!

..this little sanderling dared to be different. Instead of running from the wave, he stood his ground. I think he thought the water a little cold...

A Sanderling waits for a wave to sweep past it on Captiva Island, March 22, 2011.

"Whoa!"

The following excerpt by Peter Matthiessen from "The Wind Birds" captures the heart of a Sanderling so well (taken from "The Bedside Book of Birds--an Avian Miscellany," by Graeme Gibson. This book is a collection of bird stories, art, and poetry that I love.)

"The sanderling is the white sandpiper or "peep" of the summer beaches, the tireless toy bird that runs before the surf. Because of the bold role it plays in its immense surroundings, it is the one sandpiper that most people have noticed. Yet how few notice it at all, and few of the fewer still who recognize it will ever ask themselves why it is there or where it might be going. We stand there heedless of an extraordinary accomplishment: the diminutive creature making way for us along the beaches of July may be returning from an annual spring voyage which took it from central chile to nesting grounds in northeast Greenland, a distance of 8,000 miles. One has only to consider the life force packed tight into that puff of feathers to lay the mind wide open to the mysteries--the order of things, the why and the beginning."

Marbled Godwits on the mudflats of Ding Darling...

...more from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

...standing on Wildlife Drive and looking out at the mudflats of the eastern impoundment in the Ding Darling NWR, a huge flock of Willets flew in causing quite a stir. Through the binocs, Matty and I could see a few Short-billed Dowitchers were thrown in...and a life bird for us, a Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)...

...a Marbled Godwit towers over the Short-billed Dowitcher standing beside it in the water.

...fluffing beautiful, carmel-colored feathers.

...there is no missing that long pink bill with the black tip! It's beautiful...

Marbled Godwits are stunning birds. Large and impressive, their pinkish bills really stand out, and their warm colors separate them easily from the surrounding grey-colored birds.

...a glimpse of the "cinnamon flash" of the underlining of the Marbled Godwit's wing. I was surprised how noticeable it was.

...two Marbled Godwits stand among Willets and Short-billed Dowitchers, their slightly upturned pinkish and blackish bills stealing the show!

A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walking the beach...

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Shorebird ID is always tough for me because I don't get to see them that often, so when large flocks of assorted waders fly in, I really have to think. When trying to identify shorebirds, I focus on three things to start; leg color, bill shape, and height. Since I can't identify shorebirds yet by call, and I normally see them only in non-breeding plumage, sticking to the "big three" seems to be the best way for me to ID them.

A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walks the shore on Captiva Island in Florida.

Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed Dowitchers look a lot alike, but according to my "Birds of Florida" book by Pranty, Radamaker, and Kennedy, Long-billed Dowitchers are "restricted to fresh water during winter." Since it was the end of winter when I saw this bird, and he was standing where the land meets the sea, it was easy to deduce that this fellow was the short-billed version of the bird...

The Short-billed Dowitcher's field marks are pretty clear...a medium-sized shorebird with pale yellow legs and a very long, straight bill. Check!

...another determining field mark of a dowitcher is a black-and-white barred tail.

...the two yellow-legged Short-billed Dowitchers seem to be pointing at the tiny Dunlin in front of them. It's easy to see dowitchers are medium-sized birds compared to the tiny Dunlins or Sanderlings.

...for comparison, a Short-billed Dowitcher stands next to a Dunlin. (For an earlier post on Dunlins, click here.) Size, leg color, and bill shape are different between these two birds!

...not quite The Three Tenors, but these three Short-billed Dowitchers look dapper in the sun. Our little Dunlin doesn't seem to be able to keep his eyes open!

The Dance of the Reddish Egret

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

A soft breeze was pushing across the shallow waters of the eastern impoundment of the tidal basins off Wildlife Drive in the Ding Darling NWR, ruffling our hair and providing cooling relief from the ever-strengthening sun overhead. It was quiet, and an adult and juvenile Pied-billed Grebe were bobbing and preening in the shallow saltwater tidal flats on the right side of the rode--the Pine Island Sound side. Matty and I were crouched in shaggy grass behind a small red mangrove stand watching the two birds, captivated by the baby as he dove every now and then under the water only to pop up nearby, water beading and dripping from his dull brown feathers (just like his mama!). Eventually, however, a bird on the other side of the drive--the eastern impoundment side, which is the brackish freshwater basin, stole our attention and pulled us across the road and into the breeze. "What is that bird doing?" Matty asked. "Dancing!" I told him, "...and fishing..." Matty had spotted one of the birds I wanted us to see most that day, a Reddish Egret (our rarest egret), and even better, the reddish-bluish bird with a half pink and half black bill was doing his famous dance!

...a Reddish Egret runs in circles and "dances" through the shallows of the eastern impoundment along Wildlife Drive at Ding Darling. He's not just having fun...or running away in terror from an alligator, he's employing the same foraging techniques used by his ancestors for centuries.

A Reddish Egret raises its wings to form a canopy over the water, casting a shadow that reduces the sun's glare, making it easier for the bird to see the fish in the water. The shadow also lures in small fish and frogs, tricking them into its "protective" shelter.

...prancing and hopping around in the shallow water with wings outstretched and flapping, running back and forth in his own ballet...all to drum up a little lunch!

...every now and then he pauses from the dance and assumes the canopy stance...luring in the unsuspecting prey churned up from his spastic movements. He also may shuffle his feet a bit to stir up the mud, releasing other tasty creatures.

...flicking the wings...and prancing....

...more flicking of the wings...and prancing...

...charging through the water... (These shots always make me laugh. It looks like he's shrieking in the stereotypical "I just saw a mouse" posture...or maybe the standard, "snake...")

...getting ready...

...direct hit!

Matty and I saw this bird on March 22, 2011. For last year's visit to Longboat Key, Florida, and another post on the Reddish Egret's fishing dance, click here.

Dunlins hunting in the mudflats...

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

While two little Dunlins were busy scouring the muddy shores of one of the salt-water marshes and mudflats in the Ding Darling NWR, Matty and I were watching a Reddish Egret hunting and dancing in the blue waters much farther out. We didn't even know the two "best buds" were so close until we happened to look down. A total surprise, they were about 15-20 feet away, systematically probing the soft, creamy mud for invertebrates...

...could these little sandpipers be any sweeter? I love Dunlins with their gently down-curving bills and their beautiful little faces.

Although still mostly garbed in his dull, "dun," non-breeding winter colors, the beautiful russets and reds of his spring breeding plumage are starting to show.

Dunlins are predominantly visual hunters (pecking) during the day and tactile hunters (probing) at night. Matty and I sat on the grassy embankment and watched the Dunlins for a long time. We saw both feeding methods. Maybe because the mud was so soft and creamy they did a lot of tactile feeding, their long bills resembling straws that let them probe deep into the muck and slurp up their prey!

Click here to read a very interesting article about the Dunlin's hunting methods in the Journal of Avian Biology 25: 55-62 by K. N. Mouritsen titled, "Day and night feeding in Dunlins Calidris alpina: choice of habitat, foraging technique and prey."

I don't think this is the Stink Eye. I think it's a curious What's-making-that-clicking-sound-above-me Eye!

Matty and I watched these birds on March 21, 2011. It was so warm in the Florida sun, and we were able to sit down, relax and just study the little birds. Such a welcome relief from the cold, nasty weather still waiting for us back home...

Usually when we saw the Dunlins at Ding Darling, they were in huge mixed flocks out on the mudflats, but these two birds were hanging by themselves. Sometimes they would split up for a few minutes, but they always came back together. At one point, we were further down the road watching a Tri-colored Heron, when a large flock of Dunlins ripped over our heads trailing energy, sound and even a breeze in their wake. It was so sudden and unexpected--and the experience was made even more thrilling because they flew from back to front and only a few feet over our heads. It was like all the energy of their flock washed over us. In a split second they were in front of us zipping and turning together at breakneck speed, flashing and zig-zagging until they lighted on the mudflat further out in the marsh. It was the first time I ever felt that kind of energy...I'll never forget it.

P.S. After dinner this evening Rick and I headed over to the Little Miami River to see what neotropical migrants we could find, and...oh my gosh...first up was a Canada Warbler!! He was so gorgeous...and SO CLOSE...and stayed around for so long. Even Rick the Reluctant Birder was sold. We then saw a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Blackburnian Warbler, two Wood Thrushes, two Hermit Thrushes, a Swainson's Thrush! (directly overhead), an Ovenbird (really, really close too)...our Northern Parula was still there, a Baltimore Oriole, Red-eyed Vireos...tons of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, two Phoebes...an Eastern Wood Pewee...a Barred Owl...the list goes on and on. Rick attributes the incredible views of the Canada Warbler to the fact I didn't have my camera with me. It was misty...and foggy...and evening was falling hard, so I thought I'd be "free" and just bird with binocs. I knew not having the camera would guarantee something cool...

A Cormorant taking off from the water...doing the Cormorant Hop!

...back to the Captiva Island, Florida posts!
Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Cormorants are always fun to watch. I like to follow them when they are diving for fish, but watching their take-offs is sometimes even more entertaining. They don't pitter-pat, pitter-pat, pitter pat across the water in a running motion before eventually hauling their stout and dripping wet bodies out of the water and into the air--they hop, hop, HOP!

A Double-crested Cormorant swims the waters of the Ding Darling NWR.

His sparkling turquoise-colored eyes and orangish face mask command attention...

...hmmmm...that water looks like it's starting to boil. Something must be going on with those feet!

SPLASH! Cormorants use both feet at the same time to push off the water when they are taking off, basically hopping their way in huge leaps across the water. If you follow the splashes you can see this fellow's progress...a big splash, then undisturbed water, then another big splash, etc. (One of my favorite bird reference books is the National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America by Mel Baughman. I like this book because is discusses bird behavior and general information instead of bird ID. You can read more about the cormorant's take-off method in this book.)

...the hops are getting further apart...and you can see his two feet working together!

...do we have lift off?

...no, but almost...one more really big hop should do it...

...see you later C-bird!

...these photos were taken on March 22, 2011 at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, Florida. It was so beautiful...warm, sunny, and blue!

Ruddy Turnstones

...back to the Captiva Island, Florida posts!

Everyday when I walked the beach, I'd find my little Ruddies somewhere along the way. They were nearly as busy as the Sanderlings running around and scrounging out food, but their style was a little different. Staying true to their name, Rick and I watched several "turn" over shells and "stones" to quickly nab the spiders and insects hiding underneath them...but just as often, we watched them run through the surf to grab mollusks and crustaceans from the tideline.

...you can never miss the orange, orange legs of a Ruddy Turnstone!

...can you see what he's doing here? He's digging a hole! In addition to turning over stones to find food, Ruddy Turnstones will dig holes to search out buried crustaceans.

...a Ruddy in winter plumage. I wonder if this little fellow has reached his breeding grounds in the Arctic yet?

A bird of the shoreline, you can always find Ruddy Turnstones running through the surf searching out sand fleas and coquinas.

...walking, searching...gotta keep moving...

...eating a coquina.

...although not a great photo, I love his athletic "running back" form...and the little coquina he's carrying in his bill!

Beak Bit

Our little Ruddy Turnstone is quite a flyer, winging his way over 16,700 miles (27,000 kilometers) on his roundtrip migration flight! In an article by Lewis Smith released in April of 2010 in "The Independent" (click here for the full article), researchers from the Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG) announced the amazing story of four Ruddy Turnstones' migration journey. Using new technology created by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the researchers at AWSG fitted tiny light-sensitive geotracking devices weighing only 1 gram to the Ruddies and waited for them to return. A year later, analysis of the data taken from the geolocators revealed it took the four birds just over six day to fly 4,700 miles from Flinders in South East Australia to Taiwan. While continuing on to their Arctic breeding grounds, one of the Ruddies flew 3,850 miles in just four days and 3,100 miles more in another four days (the birds averaged 31-34 mph). Wow...these birds don't mess around! I can't wait to see what this year's research brings, because the scientists fitted over 60 Ruddy Turnstones in April of 2010, so they should have a lot more research to report.

...and this bit is just cute...the tracker can be attached to the birds by either securing it to a leg or as a "backpack." All the Ruddies had to have them attached to their legs because tests showed that after spending the summer eating, eating, and eating to bulk up to their travel weight (190g), they were "round as tennis balls" and the backpacks wouldn't stay on!

....after I read this article, I looked to see if any others were out there, and found a lot. Here are a few more links:

Bird Life International, "A Ruddy Long Way to Fly"

American Birding Association, "Gods of the Gaps"

...the article I read, The Independent, "Not such a short hop: the tiny bird that soared into the record book"

New Results reported from the past year!

Mick, from the blog "Sandy Straits and Beyond" (out of S.E. Queensland, Australia) found the reports on the new data. Seems like the little fellow did it again!!! Here are links to two sites that report in detail about the Ruddy's second trip and the migration routes he chose:

Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG), "Ruddy hell: turnstone flies 27,000 kms--twice!" (This article has a photo of the bird wearing his little leg geolocator and a labeled graphic of the migration routes.)

Victorian Wader Study Group (VWSG), "What's new: Feb 5, 2011

...just another little FYI from these articles...Ruddy Turnstones are hardy little birds and live up to 20 years, so an Australian bird following the 27,000 km migration route would fly over 500,00 km in its lifetime! What an athlete...

For bird photography from around the world, visit...