Talk About “Dipping A Toe In The Water!”
I love Sandpipers. It seems that whenever my wife Alex and I go to the Pacific Ocean they are there…grabbing a bite to eat and dipping a toe in the icy cold water!
You see, I began to notice that they were experts at eating whatever the receding wave left bubbling in the sand, but they also didn’t seem to like the water touching them, because they raced away quickly whenever the tide came back in!
A Sandpiper Lineup!
Look how they hug the shoreline?
I love watching the Sandpipers hustling along the beach, digging into the wet sand with their long beaks. They formed a long line at the water’s edge, expertly grabbing a bite while the waves receded…
And What Are Sandpipers Digging For?
I had to do some homework to fully understand this delicate eater.
“Sandpipers are a large family of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. These birds eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil.”
As you can tell, this is textbook definition stuff here:
“Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.”
Their only real competition comes from the windsurfers who sail above them as they feed:
I referred to them as “skinny dippers”, because they dip a single toe in the water before racing away – as you are about to see in this video I captured of them hard at work:
I captured this at Morro Bay, located on California’s central coast…a gorgeous place to water wide open beaches and become “king of the rock”:
This shot should give you an idea of what Alex has to put up with, but she does because then she can experience sunsets like this:
Just north of Morro Bay is the terrific seaside town of Cayucos:
We have fallen in love with this part of California, and you can get a tour of the town – and of my fried seafood platter as well, just by clicking on my story here:
The Pacific coastline is truly spectacular – not only in California, but Oregon as well:
Alex and I also did a tour of Oregon’s spectacular coast, which included a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and you can see it all by clicking on my story here:
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Let me know if you’d done a road trip along California’s coastline to watch the Sandpipers!
Categories: Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
You’re not the only one who loves these little guys!
Here’s a little movie about a baby Piper:
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They are a fun bird to watch. Those long bills come in handy. It is comical to see them running in and out of the water.
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They are so cute!
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How entertaining! The Pacific is grand. I love your sunset picture and video. Nice to hear the ocean.
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These pictures and the video are amazing, John. I just love the colours.
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I love how they scuttle to the shore and back. They’re fun to watch.
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I have often thought that they must use up the energy provided by whatever they have eaten by rushing back up the beach away from the waves! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, they can go on and on and on…and yes, they must expend thousands of calories with their speed! Thanks for commenting, hope you are off to a great weekend!
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Gorgeous sunset and I love the video! 🙂
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They literally paid no attention to me, they were in the middle of lunch!
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I loved seeing them run in and out with the surf. And so fast! 🙂
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I even found myself cheering for them!
Run little guys! Run!
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