Willets are funny

Willets are funny. They twist themselves into all kinds of weird shapes.


Willets doze off while standing on one leg.


This was news to me, but Willets hop.


Hopping again!


Tom caught this one near the Falmouth bike path last weekend.

Bird-a-thon 2011

Willet

These are some of the pictures that Pete, Tom, and I took during Birdathon last year.

Piping Plover

Birdathon is a 24 hour race to find as many bird species as possible in Massachusetts. It a big fundraiser for Mass Audubon, but it's also a way to get detailed "state of the birds" data and migration data.

Roseate and Common Terns

Birdathon is also a crazed competition between Mass Audubon sanctuaries. Different teams spread out throughout the state - climbing mountains and wading through swamps - just to find that one rare species that might win the day for their team.

Yellow Warbler

Last year we met up with my cousin Catie in Bridgewater on Friday night. (Catie's BirdingGirl blog inspired me to start blogging two years ago!)

Marbled Godwit

We were up at dawn to try our luck at Plymouth Airport, then Tom, Pete, and I walked all the way out to the very tip of the peninsula at Plymouth Beach and all the way back in.

Canada Goslings

Then Pete dragged us to the Daniel Webster sanctuary to add even more birds to the list!

Laughing Gull

Despite the endless and very tiring walk, Plymouth Beach was a blast - and a birder's delight.

Common Tern

Pete can't be here for Birdathon this year. He started a new job as a Forest Ranger in Oregon yesterday. I still haven't adjusted to not having him around, and I miss him terribly.

Common Tern

Between not having Pete to ID birds and my residual pain and vision problems from breathing in metal dust and glue fumes last winter, I was planning to skip Birdathon this year.

Semipalmated Plover

But at the very last minute I changed my mind! I might not do as well without Pete, but with Tom at my side I'm going to try. I'll probably embarrass myself - but at least it's for a good cause!

Of course, I'm really desperate for donations now because Birdathon is only two days away. If you can spare a few dollars to save The Nature of Massachusetts, I'd be eternally grateful!

Western Willet Gobbling Crabs!

You wouldn't believe how many little crabs this guy was catching. This is a juvenile Western Willet.


Look at the effort he puts into snapping that bill!


He was eating them like popcorn!


I didn't even know there were two kinds of willet around here, so I took 200 pictures of the other bird because I didn't know what it was. As it turns out, Eastern Willets are more compact, smaller, darker colored, and have thicker bills than Western Willets.


Western Willets are more elongated , longer-legged, and somewhat larger overall. They are paler and more muted in color, and have a longer, bill that is thinner at the top. I'm still not sure if this counts as a new bird on my Lifelist!

Willets: Stunning and Surprising Shorebirds!

I'M BACK! I have been away from blogging and flickr for three weeks, during which time I sold my mom's house, sorted through more than two tons of stuff that had accumulated over the last 55 years, helped my husband remove the two tons of stuff and bring it to my house, paid all the bills and made all the legal arrangements, and finally, a few days ago, we finally closed the sale. I am far from finished with the job, since I now have 55 years worth of treasures and trash mingled together in boxes and bags stuffed into every inch of my garage and overflowing throughout my house, all of which must be re-sorted and put away eventually. But at least the buyers have a nice and virtually empty house to tear down next week. And I think I can take the time to finish some blog posts that were left half done!


This is a Willet. My first Willet, actually, but after just a bit of reading and research I've leaned how to recognize Willets nearly 100% of the time.  The trick is to look for what cannot be seen!


Willits are shorebirds that bear a slight resemblance to other sandpipers, but it takes a moment or two to realize they aren't your run-of-the-mill sandpipers at all. At rest and on the ground they are hardly a breathtaking bird in terms of plumage or coloring. In fact they are pretty unremarkable. They are larger than most shorebirds, standing about 14 inches tall, but they seem otherwise to be pretty drab.


As you saw in the first picture, however, these birds are far from dull when they raise their wings to fly. The dramatic coloring underneath their wings will make you gasp with surprise the first time you see it!


This pair of birds are obviously practicing their synchronized flying routine. They are damned good at it, too!


They are in near perfect harmony every time they move. When they raise their wings, all pretense of drab and dull conformity is wiped away, leaving most observers with the impulse to respond with applause and appreciation.


Willets in flight are not only decorated with bold patterns and eye-catching style; they prove themselves to be are exceedingly graceful and skilled as they move off together as one.

Bird-A-Thon Pictures!

Piping Plover at Plymouth Beach.  Endangered Species.

Bird-a-thon was awesome!  It was insane and exhausting, but also fun and rewarding. Our little team of four netted 52 different bird species. I suspect that is on the low side for really enthusiastic birders, but I thought we did an outstanding job. Tom took all of these pictures, and every one of them is outstanding, too. We even saw Piping Plovers, a lifer for me, I think. They are cute, adorable, and endangered.  (BTW, you should view these pictures LARGE or ORIGINAL size at Flickr.  They are really that good!)

Willet on Plymouth Beach.

Mid-day Saturday was shorebirds at Plymouth Beach. This is a Willet. Willets are large shorebirds, speckled gray-brown with a long straight bill. Willets look quite nondescript on the ground, but once in flight or even with wings spread out, they are distinguished by their striking black-and-white color pattern.

Common Tern in Flight

We saw four different species of terns in Plymouth! Four! This beauty is a Common Tern, which is not at all common as far as I'm concerned.

Laughing Gull, May 15 2010

All four of Massachusetts' gulls were well represented, too. I couldn't resist this shot of a laughing gull.

Marbled Godwit

I wanted a Yellowlegs, but I got a Godwit. I actually failed to see more than a couple of my target species, but seeing a Marbled Godwit in the spring is quite rare, or so I've been told. Pete and I saw this guy on Saturday. A birder from another Bird-A-Thon team gave us the ID and the info on this species. If he hadn't, I'd still be looking through field guides!

More to come later on. Thanks especially to BirdingGirl (my cousin and inspirational fellow blogger!) for joining our Birdathon team and taking us birding in Bridgewater Friday evening!

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE A DONATION!  25 CENTS PER SPECIES WILL COST YOU ONLY $13.00!  CLICK HERE OR CLICK THE FUNDRAISING WIDGET ABOVE.   THANKS, ALL!