Tweets,
Yesterday, Alan Roedell and I went to Ft. Canby to see the Mountain Plover.
We arrived about 1pm just before a 2pm low tide. We checked the area around
the driftwood shelters and then searched the dunes above the beach to no
avail. I decided to scan the rock jetty for other shorebirds and located the
Mountain Plover at 2pm. It was resting beside a small tuft of grass about 30
feet north of the jetty midway between the tide line and the beginning of the
dunes. We observed it for almost an hour. During this time, it made one foray
after an insect but returned to the tuft of grass where it rested for the
rest of the time we watched. At one point, it opened its bill in what looked
like a yawn. This yawn revealed a thin bright pink tongue coiled into an "S".
The tongue appeared to be at least 1 1/2 times the length of the bill.
Good birding,
Phyllis Stark
Renton, WA
ppstark at aol.com