Photos from the Shore

The following photographs were taken at Sandy Point, Plum Island on the Plum Island Sound. This is a Massachusetts park and people are allowed in during the summer. But there is a large marked off portion of the dunes that are off-limits and reserved for nesting Piping Plovers and Least Terns. The first photo is of one of the Piping Plovers that has moved in.

Next is a Semipalmated Plover. It is only visiting the island on its way to the breeding grounds in Alaska, northern Canada and the Canadian Maritimes.

Both have the Plover shape and Plover bill.

This is a series of photos I took of two Ruddy Turnstones. They are in full breeding plumage and are on their way to their breeding grounds on the Canadian and Greenland shores of the Arctic Ocean. Note the reddish brown highlights on the back and the orange legs. These two flew onto the beach, accompanied by a Sanderling and a Semipalmated Plover. They prefer stony beaches and did not stay long. They are called Ruddy because of the color on their back and Turnstone since they forage by turning over stones and other debris to look for food.