Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Wild Bird Wednesday - Ruddy Turnstone

Last week's post featured the Surfbird.  I had some good luck with other shore birds on that same day in Crystal Cove including the Ruddy Turnstone:




This bird is transitioning between plumages...




You can see a bit of the "ruddy" color that gives the bird its name.




It was fun to watch this bird actively hunting through the sand for prey.




I don't know what it was catching, but either the bird was really hungry or the food was extra yummy because it was really gorging itself (and not paying all that much attention to me so I was able to get extra close).




Down the hatch!




Even at the midway point between plumages...quite a handsome bird!

KJ



10 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

I love their coloration. It's like a butterscotch swirl!

eileeninmd said...

Hello, the Ruddy Turnstone is a beautiful bird. I love its colors and markings, great shots.
Happy Tuesday, enjoy your week ahead!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

A lovely sereis of photos of the Turnstone

sunshine said...

Great bird and an interesting coloration.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Your beach looks a whole lot like the one we went to last week here in Florida. But your pictures are prettier -- mine are all kind of uniformly gray. Beautiful turnstones.

Breathtaking said...

Great captures of the Ruddy Turnstones.You can clearly see their lovely markings on your pictures. These fast little movers are so entertaining to watch.

A Colorful World said...

Great photos! This bird has beautiful plumage.

Les Fous du Cap said...

Belle proximité avec l'oiseau ;-)
Céline & Philippe

Stewart M said...

Cracking little birds - I was watching the same species last week - although I did not get any decent images - too far away.

I think that the Currawongs in my post have so much jewellery to allow them to be identified in the field without having to trap them - they are not very common on the island, and they are much studied.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh yeah, I know this guy. Will never forget the first time I watched them foraging -- such interesting behavior. Thank you so much for your help with the ID of my shore birds -- sanderling and plover. I'm sure you are right. I will try to do a follow-up post on this sometime soon. (Hopefully after another trip to the beach, if it ever stops raining).