If I’m lucky I’ll see this bird in the next few days, but he won’t be this brightly colored.
This is a ruddy turnstone in breeding plumage. By his color you can see why he’s called “ruddy.” “Turnstone” comes from his behavior. This shorebird eats insects, beetles and crustaceans and literally turns stones to find them. Of course he prefers stony, not sandy, beaches.
Ruddy turnstones breed in the Arctic and winter along our Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. This keeps them beyond the bounds of southwestern Pennsylvania but during migration they sometimes stop on the shores of Lake Erie. If you drive a couple of hours to the lake in August you may see one there. Bobby Greene photographed this one at Conneaut, Ohio.
And why do I think I’ll see a ruddy turnstone soon? I’m on my way to Florida to visit Chuck and Joan Tague and do a lot of birding. At some point we’ll visit a rocky jetty and perhaps find a ruddy turnstone who’s spending his winter there.
(photo by Bobby Greene)
Don’t you just love that photo?! Bobby is another great photographer! I have seen him and Cris at Conneaut and also happened upon them at Crooked Creek looking for that darn Barred Owl (I’ve received email from several people with photos, but I haven’t seen it yet this year and with the weather we’ve had this month, haven’t been up there much or far anyway). The Ruddy Turnstones at Conneaut were delightful and there were quite a few of them. What a great place.
Well, enjoy your trip to Florida, Kate and hope they take you to Vierra Wetlands and Merritt Island (you may have been there before anyway). I’m hoping to go end of March.
Envy you your trip. My daughter lives in Florida; she has l.ived on both coasts & now is in Deltona, near Orlando. Husb. was in Coast Guard. There was so muchto see & enjoy in every location. Have fun. Faith Cornell