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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Shorebirds


Most Shorebirds walk along shores probing for food with their thin sensitive bills. Bill length varies considerably so differing species can work the same shore and obtain different food supplies. Shorebirds include sandpipers, godwits, stilts, oystercatchers, plovers, and many more. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. There are 86 species world wide, 65 North American species, and 47 Californian species.

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes jaegers, skuas, gulls, terns, kittiwakes and skimmers. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are 108 species world wide, 54 North American species, and 44 Californian species.
Like all North American terns, the least tern has long, pointed wings and a deeply forked tail. It is the smallest of our terns, and bears outer wing feathers that edge the light-gray wings in black. The breeding adult is gray above, white below, with a black cap. In early spring least terns return from wintering grounds in Latin America.

They soon pair up using courtship rituals in which hopeful males offer small fish to prospective mates. The shorebirds nest in very shallow depressions on broad expanses of bare sand, which camouflage the eggs. They lay from mid-April in south Florida to the first of May in the north, and the eggs hatch after 21 days. The young leave the nest in a few days, but don't begin to fly safely until about three weeks later. Populations of least terns sank after the turn of the century, when they were hunted to harvest their feathers to decorate women's hats.

Not only are the birds extremely susceptible to nest disturbance, they have lost extensive nesting habitat to beach development and increased human activity there. Least terns are colony nesters, meaning they nest in a group, which allows them to exchange information about food sources, as well as to detect and mob predators. An entire colony can be easily destroyed by predation by red foxes, raccoons, dogs and house cats, by human trampling, or by catastrophic storms.
Snowy Plover can be found along the west coast from Washington to Baja California and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to the Yucatan Peninsula. Preferred habitats include sandy coastal beaches and shallow alkaline lakes. The snowy plover is a small bird with pale brown upper parts and white under parts. This bird has dark patches on either side of upper breast, behind eye, and on it's white forehead. The snowy plover's bill, legs, and feet are black.

The Spotted Sandpiper is the most widespread-breeding sandpiper in North America. Spotted sandpipers feed on a great variety of animal matter and they occupy almost all habitats near water, everything from the shorelines of wild rivers and lakes to urban and agricultural ponds and pools. Easily identified in breeding plumage by the presence of dense ventral spots, the Spotted Sandpiper is also known as a little shorebird teetering along the water’s edge. Spotted Sandpipers (along with several other species of scolopacids) are among a small minority of birds that have reversed sex roles; i.e., females are more aggressive and active in courtship than males, and males take the primary parental role.
the northern Jacana is a shore bird found in California nature The Northern Jacana as with most Jacanas is easily identified by its long toes. Their bodies are about the same size as a robin. The body is mostly dark with black plumage on the head and neck. The Northern Jacana has pale green flight feathers and a distinctive yellow bill and frontal shield. Juveniles have white underparts. These unusual birds are also identified by their harsh “jik” call which progressively speeds up to a chatter. The large feet and claws of the Northern Jacana are what give it the ability to walk atop floating vegetation. In fact, the toes cover an area of 12 by 14 cm, thus dispersing the bird’s mass over a large area. They are particularly fond of lake and fresh-water marsh habitats.

Northern Jacanas are known for being quite aggressive and territorial. They frequently fight with each other using their weapons – spurs located on the bend of the wing. Floating nests are built on the water. Female Northern Jacanas are polyandrous and are often spoken of as the prostitute bird. A clutch of 3 to 5 eggs is laid in the floating nest which is built and cared for by the male. The male Northern Jacana incubates the eggs for a period of 22 to 24 days whilst the female guards her males. Once the young ones hatch, they will fledge in 28 days. The father will teach his precocial chicks how to forage for various foods such as insects, mollusks, worms and fish. Should danger approach, he will carry them under his wings. Its quite easy to understand why the unique Northern Jacana’s are popular amongst bird watchers.
Since it is one of the largest and heaviest of our shorebirds, the oystercatcher is unmistakable. It is striking in appearance: dark-brown, black, and white, with a bright red bill. When in flight, a diagonal white stripe in each wing forms a V-pattern.

Oystercatchers get their name from their habit of snatching oysters from slightly open shells. They also use their powerful bills to open mollusks and to sort through heavy shells in search of food.

The oystercatcher needs extensive sandbars and mudflats for feeding and sand or shell-covered beaches free from predators and human disturbance for nesting. The birds usually nest in shallow depressions scraped out of sand, in areas surrounded by water, since they are very sensitive to disturbance and susceptible to mammalian predators. Unfortunately the availability of safe nesting places is declining
Blackbirds    California Condor    Cardinals    Cranes    Crows, Jays, & Magpies   Eagles    Finches    Flycatchers    Hawks Hummingbirds    Owls    Game Birds    Raptors    Shore Birds    Sparrows    Tanager    Thrushes    Vultures    Wading Birds Warblers      Woodpeckers      Wrens
 
 
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