Birdtastic Labor Day

I promised myself I'd get enough homework done to enjoy a good portion of the Monday holiday with the birds, and I kept that promise! Arcata Marsh was spectacularly birdy today, especially right at high tide. This is when the migratory shorebirds lose their feeding grounds out in the mudflats and are forced up into the marsh to roost on the shores and islands of the ponds. The peeps (Western and Least Sandpipers) lined Klopp Lake in astronomical numbers today, more than I've ever seen by far. There were many a Marbled Godwit, Willet, Black-Bellied Plover, Yellowlegs, and Dowitcher as well. What a truly awesome sight, so many tens of thousands of birds roosting and whirling about. I was just blown away by the power and beauty of it.

Also out on the lake today: a couple Brown Pelicans having a very successful fish. These two were synchronized in this particular meal; both dove for fish and gulped them up simultaneously. So comical, so majestic.