I had a lovely walk on the beach yesterday–despite the fierce wind out there. I parked further north this time and came down this path–36A. I took a picture of the houses so I could find this path again on my way out. Just in case. All the paths are marked by number too though. But it is easier to see the houses then walk through the soft sand to check the path number.
Look at that sky!
The entry paths are marked by yellow barrels and the path number on both the street and on the beach. The path number is keyed to the island street numbers, which ARE numbers with few exceptions. Low numbers start in the south and increase as one moves north. Many local beach visitors leave their road shoes in the sand near a barrel or the path’s end–to be retrieved on the way out.
As I said. The wind was FIERCE. I loved seeing this little group of people happily talking behind the wind barricade they had erected, so I turned around and took a picture after I had passed them.
The pelicans were hunting further out. They fly in chain lines–like one sees geese fly–and dive into the water. Or, they all alight in the water beyond the wave breaker line. I tried for a picture when they flew over my head, but didn’t get my phone camera organized fast enough.
The tide was just turning from dead low–and you can see that there is a sand bar further out, with a deep slough near the shore.
Here’s where that outer sand bar curves to meet the exposed beach. Note: the wind is too hard for my voice to be heard.
Tidal pools lie above the water line, and they are often filled with treasures. Here is a battered veteran of the tidal cycles.
I think it is time to get a refresher on the various shore birds. I remember the little, very active, sand pipers (sanderling family). But what is this bird, with his/her distinctive black legs and long bill? S/he was energetically dining on something in the sand in the backwash of the waves.
S/he did NOT like it when I pointed a camera at him/her. With the wind ruffling his/her back feathers, s/he stopped eating and started a quick walk away from me and would have flown off if I persisted.
I did a little research when I got home. Maybe this bird is a Dunlin. Or, a Red Knot.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dunlin/id#
Note to self: the next time the wind is this high, walk INTO the wind on the way down the beach so when you get tired, you will have the wind at your back on the return trip. It is very, very easy to walk a LONG way with the wind at your back and not so easy to walk against such a fierce wind when it is time to turn around. My upper thigh muscles were really tired by the time I retrieved my shoes–which I suppose was a good thing.
Anyway, I slept like a log last night.
Louisa Enright's Blog 