taking a bubble bath

I'm sitting here at midnight, preparing my post after a kinda rough couple of days (although things are looking up now), so I hope you don't mind that I am just going to share my photos today without a lot of elaboration.

Run Sanderling Run!

By now you've probably concluded that I am enamored with the Sanderling. We saw them at each beach we went to and I could not resist watching their antics.

They stay at the edge of the water, going towards the ocean as the water goes out . . .

. . .and, running like crazy towards shore when the water came in. Isn't he darling?!

No matter how many times I watched him do this I never tired of it. And he never got swept away by a wave, believe me, I held my breath with anticipation each time.

Btw, this beach was more broken shell (is that called shale?) than it was sand. It sure made for a beautiful color!

I guess he got full. Doesn't he look coy?

Ruffled Feathers

Sanderling, at least I think that's what he is. I love his reflection in the water too.

A Laughing Gull laughing at me. lol

Yellowlegs or Willet?  I'm really bad at identifying these birds.

I loved chasing bigger birds with my lens while in Florida.  The challenge of Wisconsin bird is that most of the ones I see are small and they're very flighty.

Hosted by Cecily

But, as you can see, this gull seemed as intrigued with me as I was with him.  Now I suppose he could be a juvenile Herring Gull, but due to the time of year, I'm assuming this is a Ring-Billed Gull in his winter plumage.

Beach Bums

I think I need to spend more time on the beach. ;0) I love how his eye is closed here. It seems dreamy.

So, I think he's too big to be a Spotted Sandpiper but I'm not really sure what he is. Any ideas?

Have a closer look.

Slightly smaller than a gull, but not as small as a sandpiper.

I think he's cute no matter what he is.

Tiny Sandpiper.

Remarkable how similar their colors are and structure, almost look like a mom and a babe but I don't think they are.

Some sort of Tern?

Feathered Treasures

You know I love birds, right? I hope you do too, because I have tons of bird photos from our Florida trip! This Ring-billed Gull looks just like the gulls I see up in Wisconsin. But I couldn't resist him anyway.

Some sort of sandpiper - the pipers totally intrigued me. They are so small and active!

See, tiny! The gull looks like a giant compared to him! The Ring-billed stands 19" tall with a 4' wingspan.

La-ti-da-ti-da, I'm just walking along. . .

Looks like Mr Gull found a snail for a snack.

Laughing Gull was laughing, lol.

The pipers run toward the water, eating something deep in the sand and then run away from the incoming waves.  They were very fun to watch!

While I was caught up in birds, the guys were seeking treasures of a different kind.

I got temporarily distracted by things washed ashore.

But it wasn't long until the birds stole my attention once more.