The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
It's early May in northern Florida and our abundant aquatic habitat is a lot less 'birdy' than it was a month or two ago. Oh, there are plenty of herons and egrets, anhingas and cormorants, moorhens and wood duck still around. But dabblers and divers, the loons, the horned grebes, and so on have departed for the north.
Early May does have one treat for us - the shorebirds are heading for the north and putting on their breeding plumage before they leave. On Sunday we visited Alligator Point, in Franklin County, Florida for a walk on the beach. There was some other interesting stuff out there which I will save for another day.
American Oystercatchers on a dock on the 'bay side' (inland) of the point. I've never seen them on a dock elsewhere. It was high tide to presumably they were hanging out until they could go back to the oyster beds. They are one of four shorebird species that breeds locally rather than heading to the arctic.
A pair of Sanderlings at different points in the process of getting breeding plumage.
Not really shorebirds per se but Least Terns do breed on beaches. We were a bit worried that they were trying to nest right there which would have been a bad idea due to heavy human traffic.
A black-bellied plover that is well on its way to breeding plumage. They have one of the most striking transformations, being almost completely patternless and grey/brown for most of the year.
One of the most striking shorebirds, ruddy turnstone.
A pair of short-billed dowitchers again in different plumages
Dunlin feeding in the surf.
Dunlin and dowitchers illustrating various transitional stages between plumages for both.
Semipalmated plovers as well as other shorebirds
Species seen but not photographed: Whimbrel, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Red Knot. May 3, eastern Panhandle coast, Florida.
Now it's your turn. What's in your part of the bucket?
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" is posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and Wednesday at 3:30 on the Daily Kos front page. It's a great way to catch up on diaries you might have missed. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.