Black Turnstone and Brewer's Blackbird

While I was out at Esquimalt Lagoon I was so focused on the Goldeneye and the Pintail ducks that I almost didn't see these little Black Turnstones and the female Brewer's Blackbird (far right). The saying is "Birds of a feather flock together" and it certainly seems to be true most of the time. However, I've begun to notice that sometimes there will be quite a mixture of species hanging out together. In the case above I think it was just chance that the Turnstones and the Blackbirds were intermixed since they were both feeding on the same bit of shoreline. But in the city here I have often noticed robins flying and feeding with starling flocks during the winter. In our back yard, the House Finches and House Sparrows don't seem to mind sharing the feeder and nearby roosts but both are quite intolerant of any Chickadees that try to share.

Winter Visitors 5

While out at Esquimalt Lagoon I was lucky to see some Black Turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala). These shorebirds are coming south from their nesting grounds in Alaska. They may stay around here but many move further south, even as far as Mexico, for the winter months. Smart birds!

Shorebirds

Earlier this week I was down at Clover Point and was able to photograph this nice group of shorebirds, two Black Turnstones and three Black Oystercatchers as well as the ubiquitous seagull.

Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)

Here's another winter resident, a Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala). These shorebirds breed only in Alaska during the spring and summer and then spend the winters further south. They like to poke around among the barnacles along the shoreline of the West Bay Walkway. Generally they move around in small flocks and this one was keeping company with about a dozen others.

Black Turnstone

As well as fall colors, another positive aspect of autumn is the return of many of the seabirds that spend the winter here after their summer breeding season in the north. The Black Turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala) pictured here breed only in Alaska during the summer and spend the winters further south on the Pacific Coast. Recently I have also welcomed the return of one of my favorite kinds of fish-duck, the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). They also spend the summer further north for breeding and nesting.