“I GET AROUND”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (3)

December 18, 2020 by Rolling Harbour

“I GET AROUND”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (3)

ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH was an amateur ‘citizen science’ conservation program to help investigate the winter season migrations of a tiny shore bird. It started in August 2015 and ended with Hurricane Dorian Sept 1st 2019. TUNA was the first banded bird we found, a summer chick that had completed a 1000+ mile flight when aged about 3 months. During the season, Tuna’s life on Abaco was monitored, in particular by Rhonda Pearce who bonded with the little bird and took lots of photos. Tuna asked, in a whimsical way, if I would make space for a Guest Post. I recently re-posted the first HERE . This is the third instalment.

Hi again, readers of Mr Harbour’s blog. Tuna still here. This is part 3 of my diary. I’m 4½ months old now, and getting on famously here on Abaco. Especially now the big wind and waves have gone away [Hurricane Joaquin – ed]. Someone called me ‘Abaco’s favourite plover’, which really fluffed up my feathers. I’ve started to explore a bit and meet more birds just like me*. Turns out they are all Travellers from the North too – what are the chances? [in winter, 100% – ed]

*How do I know what I look like? Well it’s easy. When I am chomping meat strings in the sunshine on the edge of the water, there’s a picture of me in the water doing the exactly same thing at the same time only upside down. Like these two friends of mine here.

I do a lot of running about on the beach. Back and forth. Up and down. Into the water and out again. It’s a busy life. And I’ve only got little legs. In case anyone worries that Michelle’s 4 smart rings hurt me or get in the way, I never feel them. They are just a part of who I have always been since she picked me up the day after I cracked out and added the bird-bling.

I’ve met lots of birds that are different from me, too. Some live here all the time, others are Travellers from the North as well. I’m relying on Mr RH here to show you some of the guys I hang out with these days. We all kind of mix up and if you don’t try to find meat strings where the bigger birds want to find them, it’s very friendly. Actually they are all bigger than me!

Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Wilson’s Plover (all on Abaco)

I’ve made my first trip to a different beach. I decided to fly round and explore, and I saw lots more sand so I flew there and stayed a couple of days. Like a little holiday. A nice man [monitor Keith Kemp] saw me there and told Mr RH about my coloured bands. That’s how he knew I’d moved and he told my friend Rhonda so she didn’t go looking for me on my home beach and get worried that I wasn’t there. Then I flew back there after a couple of days and Rhonda found me there again yesterday.

Tuna on his vacation from Watching Bay to Winding Bay. Note meat string in #1

I’ve got a new game I’ve been playing when Rhonda comes to see me. She sits down on the beach and puts shells all round her in the sand. So I come over and have a look at them (once I pecked the cloth thing she sits on. Urrch! It wasn’t food). Then she uses that thing that makes a plover noise [the focus sound on her camera – ed] and I put my head on one side to listen.

There’s another reason I put my head on one side. Sometimes really really big birds fly over the beach. Huge dark ones. I like to keep an eye on them. I think they may be trouble. So I put my head on one side so I know exactly where they are in the sky until I feel safe.

This is me back on my beach after my trip. Green on Blue (L); Black on Grey (R) = TUNA

This is a New Friend on my beach, one of 3. They don’t have smart legs but they are Travellers from the North like me. In this game I lie low in a hole in the sand and my NF rushes at me kicking sand up like a crazy bird. Fun, huh?

More news from me soon. Cheeps from Tuna.

TUNA’S FIRST 4½ MONTHS

JUN 10 Hatched Edwin B. Forsythe NWR (Holgate Center), New Jersey
JUN 11 Banded & measured by Michelle Stantial
JUL 05 Fledged
AUG 28 First sighted on Abaco – preliminary ID
SEP 16 Seen again on the same beach – ID confirmed
SEP 22 Last sighting before Hurricane Joaquin
SEP 28 Paula (Tuna’s mother) re-sighted on Joulter Cays, Andros
OCT 03 Tuna safely back on the beach again after Hurricane Joaquin
OCT 20-23 Expedition to Winding Bay (ID there on Oct 22)
OCT 24 Found back on Watching Bay beach

NOTE If you ever wondered why birds are banded and what on earth use it is, the answer is in this story. Banding & tagging enables detailed research at both ends of the migration which in turn enables protection of the species and conservation of threatened habitats. There are only 8000 PIPL left. Degradation of the breeding grounds or the overwintering grounds – let alone both – may result in extinction. This seems to have been a good summer for the piping plover; let’s hope the winter treats them well so that this summer’s chicks like Tuna will be able to breed safely next year.

This Diary extract shows how an individual banded bird’s movements can be monitored within its chosen area, so that a picture can be formed of its habitat choices, location changes, and range.

Credits: photos Rhonda Pearce, Keith Kemp, Craig Nash, Tony Hallett, Keith Salvesen; thanks to bander Michelle Stantial, birder & ‘Tuna Watcher’ Rhonda Pearce, CWFNJ & cohorts, Matt Jeffery and all other providers of info snippets; Birdorable for the cartoon; and Xeno-Canto for the recording

“I’M WITH THE BAND…” PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST – revisited

November 26, 2020 by Rolling Harbour

“I’M WITH THE BAND…” PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST 1

ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH was an amateur ‘citizen science’ conservation program to help investigate the winter season migrations of a tiny shore bird. It started in August 2015 as a winter-season supplement to the serious scientific research carried out annually in the summer breeding grounds and during winter trips by Conserve Wildlife Foundation New Jersey and related organisations. The data collected by APPW during the 2015-16 season turned out to be significant, so much so that the Watch continued for 5 years until Hurricane Dorian struck in September 2019. There were a few sightings after that, but the lasting changes for the island and its people precluded bird-watching.

TUNA was the first banded bird we found, a summer chick that had completed a 1000+ mile flight when aged about 3 months. During the season, Tuna’s life on Abaco was monitored, in particular by Rhonda Pearce who bonded with the little bird and took lots of photos. Tuna asked, in a whimsical way, if I would make space for a Guest Post. This was the first.

Hello, readers of Mr Harbour’s blog. My name is Tuna. This is the first part of my autobiography, and I’m only just 3 months old. I’ve already made a 1000-mile journey to Abaco for reasons I don’t quite understand. Maybe because it’s nice and warm here. This is my story so far.

I was born on June 10th in the Holgate Unit of the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. If I’d known then what ‘beautiful’ was, this would have been it.

My dad is called Ross. My mum is called Paula. I had a brother but suddenly he stopped being there. We didn’t see him again, I never knew why. Anyway, the day after I was born a very kind lady called Michelle (Stantial, CWF-NJ) picked me up and sort of cuddled me in her fingers. I was weighed and measured. She also put coloured rings on my top bits of leg. I had blue & green on one leg and black & gray on the other. Very smart. A chic chick. It was very quick and it didn’t hurt at all. After that I never really thought about them again, they just were part of me. As I grew bigger they sort of grew with me.

It made for an exciting first full day of my life, June 11. Here are some pictures of Michelle doing this with other chicks from the same region so you can see how gentle she was. The chicks’ names were Meg, Joe and Nod. Mr Northside Jim watched them every day and took photos of them to record how they grew up. You can read about us and the other shorebirds, Ospreys and Peregrine Falcons of LBI NJ HERE

Meg being picked up for measuring and banding

Banding Meg with a unique colour combo for ID

Beak and leg measuring

I grew very quickly and my mum and dad showed me how to get food for myself. They looked after me in the nest and kept an eye on me when I went for a wander. Soon I was trying out my wings to see what would happen. Nothing.

This isn’t me but was taken quite near my bit of beach. Can you see the other chick?

It’s fun exploring the big world but it’s dangerous for little birds. I lost several friends along the way. That’s how my brother disappeared I think. As you grow bigger the world seems to get smaller. Which is weird.

I got good at finding my own food, going further away from the nest and trying out the water. My wings seemed to be starting to work a bit. Quite soon I felt nearly ready to have a go at flying.

On July 5 I managed to fly. Yup, I fledged and I flew. That was only 25 days after I cracked out. Mum and Dad had been talking about making a journey, a long one, and wondering when I would be ready for it. This was puzzling. I liked it where we were. But something was telling me I needed to fly somewhere else for some reason. Then one day I just took off and headed south…

After several days of flying and landing in new places to rest and flying again, I reached a place that I knew was exactly right. I don’t know how, but something told me that it would be a good place to stay until I needed to move again. So I landed on a beach called Watching Bay on Abaco. I’d travelled 1000 miles from where I cracked out, and I wasn’t even 3 months old. Cool, huh?

There were some other birds on the beach, including one just like me except she didn’t have any coloured rings. Ha! There were very few humans apart from a few taking a walk. On Aug 28 one lady stopped and pointed something at me. I wonder why? She kept her distance so I wasn’t scared.

August 28 Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco. Rhonda Pearce’s photos led to provisional ID of Tuna

There was plenty to eat on the beach, and it was quite sheltered from the wind. It seemed safe. I liked it a lot and decided to stay there

On Sep 16 I saw the same lady again, and she saw me. She was very careful not to get me worried, and she pointed that thing at me again. Then she walked away. I hope she comes back. She seems nice.

Sept 16 Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco. Rhonda’s new photos led to confirmed ID of Tuna

Tuna the Piping Plover: from New Jersey to Abaco (Rhonda Pearce)

I’m planning to stay on this beach for now. More news from me soon. Cheeps from Tuna.

TUNA’S FIRST THREE MONTHS

JUN 10 Hatched
JUN 11 Banded & measured
JUL 05 Fledged
AUG 28 First sighted on Abaco – preliminary ID
SEP 16 Seen again on the same beach – ID confirmed
SEP 22 Last sighting before Hurricane Joaquin
OCT 03 Back on the beach again after Hurricane Joaquin

STOP PRESS Tuna’s mother Paula was re-sighted on Sep 28 on Joulter Cays, Andros

For details of all this season’s PIPL sightings, check out

ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH

EDWIN B FORSYTHE NWR

CONSERVE WILDLIFE FOUNDATION of NJ

Credits: huge thanks for info and fab photos to Michelle Stantial, Northside Jim, Danny Sauvageau and Rhonda Pearce for the strands to weave this (slightly creative) tale; to USFWS Mountain-Prairie for the PIPL in flight; as always Xeno-Canto for bird sound recordings non pareil; oh, and Meg, Joe & Nod

SHEARWATER DIE-OFF ON ABACO: UPDATE

June 26, 2017 by Rolling Harbour

SHEARWATER DIE-OFF ON ABACO: UPDATE

A week ago I posted about the reports of dead and dying Audubon’s shearwaters being washed up on various beaches on the Abaco mainland in and around Cherokee Sound and down to Bahama Palm Shores. I included some advice about how to deal with these poor birds. You can find the post HERE.

Piping plover monitor Rhonda Pearce found a couple of struggling shearwaters in the sea

The very next day, reports began to emerge of another species, great shearwaters, being found dead or in a distressed state just off-shore or washed up on beaches. Reports were fewer, but covered a wider area, including a bird in a very poor condition at Delphi. Great shearwaters were the ones involved in the die-back event 2 years ago.

Keith Kemp, who made one of the earlier Audubon shearwater reports, found a young great shearwater in trouble in the sea while he was out in a kayak off Cherokee Point. He rescued it and took all sensible precautions to nourish it and make it comfortable but sadly it did not last the night. He has frozen the bird as a specimen in case analysis will help to explain this die-off event.

As I wrote before, these birds of the open ocean may become weakened and exhausted if fishing conditions become adverse. They will drift weakly with the tide, dying at sea or washing up in a very poor state in the tideline or on beaches. Their prospects of survival if rescued is sadly very slim – I have not yet heard of a success, though I would love to…

Thankfully, during the past week, reports have gradually diminished. I’ve not seen one for a couple of days. With any luck, the current die-off is now over and will not be repeated for several years. However, another one will certainly happen, I’m afraid – maybe in 5 to 10 years time, the usual gap. Twice in two years has made for very bleak, distressing news.

A more cheerful post will be next, I promise. Meanwhile, any further reports or comments would be welcome.

Photo credits: Dick Daniels (1, 5), Rhonda Pearce (2, 3); Keith Kemp (4)

LIZARDS OF ABACO: ANOLES (AND DEWLAPS)

May 26, 2017 by Rolling Harbour

LIZARDS OF ABACO: ANOLES (AND DEWLAPS)

Everyone knows about CURLY TAIL LIZARDS. Everyone loves them and their little ways. The other lizards that may be found on Abaco – the anoles, green and brown – are easier to take for granted. Unless, maybe, you see one displaying its DEWLAP. These are essentially folds of neck skin that are seen in many creatures – even large ones like the moose – and which in some species are inflatable / retractable.

Abaconian Rhonda Pearce has taken some excellent photos of anoles recently. By oversight I have never given anoles a day in the sun in this blog before, and it’s high time I did (see above re overlooking anoles in favour of curly tails…). First, here are some impressive dewlaps to admire.

And here are a few green and brown anoles hanging out on trees and leaves in an anole-type way. In a couple of these images, you can see the dewlap in its non-display mode. They are all just… lizards. Non-scary, non-venomous, non-poisonous little guys that are probably a peripheral part of everyone’s experience, but which really deserve a closer look.

You can read more about anoles, including their sex lives, on the excellent Abaco Scientist’s site HERE

OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION

The first time I heard the word ‘dewlap’ (misheard by the young me as ‘dewlat’) was in the mid-60s, in Georgie Fame’s excellent Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde. This song – and doubtless the film – was number 1 in the UK and maybe also the States. Famous too for such fine songs as ‘Yeh Yeh!’ and ‘Sitting in the Park’, Fame’s ‘Ballad’ is probably his best-loved song.

I assumed then that a ‘dewlat’ was some sort of valuable gold coin – like a gold sovereign – that bank robbers put into a specially designed ‘dewlat bag’ to carry them away… Ah! The naivety of youth.

Bonnie and Clyde advanced their reputation

And made the graduation into the banking business

“Reach for the sky,” sweet-talking Clyde would holler

As Bonnie loaded dollars in the dewlap bag

Credits: all photos, Rhonda Pearce with thanks as ever; icecreammakesuhappy, youtube

A-PIPIN’ & A-PLOVIN’ ON ABACO: PIPL POWER

November 14, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

A-PIPIN’ & A-PLOVIN’ ON ABACO: PIPL POWER

Last year someone kindly reported a lone piping plover sighting on ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH. I like to get a few details, so I asked what it was doing (meaning: sleeping / mooching / foraging / flying?). She replied – and I knew exactly what she meant – “Oh, a-pipin’ and a-plovin’ about on the beach”. A very evocative description of how these tiny scuttling birds pass their days!

Green Flag YLO, renamed Coco for short

The A P P Watch is now into its 4th month. The earliest reported arrival for the fall winter / winter season was as early as July 30. The first banded bird was reported on August 4, in a small group of 5. The leg bands (upper right Green Flag coded YLO; upper left Orange Band) at once confirmed the bird as an unnamed returner originating from Fire Island National Seashore NY – to the very same beach where it was sighted last December. That is known as ‘beach fidelity’, and is a most important piece of conservation data, because it is evidence that the beaches of Abaco provide a safe and unspoilt winter habitat for this vulnerable and threatened species. YLO was renamed Coco to reward his contribution to empirical conservation study.

We didn’t have to wait long for the next banded bird, one that had undertaken the longest journey we have yet come across, nearly 2000 miles (direct) from Big Barachois, Newfoundland. Black Flag 58 was soon traced to his origin and details of his adventurous life were uncovered – two summers on the same breeding beach, and a spring sighting on Long Island, NY.

The next find was a precious ‘Bahama Pink’ on Long Beach, known simply as… Pink Flag #50. She was banded on the same beach in 2014; resighted there in December 2015; and had returned for her third visit before the end of August 2016. The perfect example of ‘beach fidelity’.

In the same group that day was another exciting find, this time a new bird Green Flag 2AN originating from the same place as Coco above: Fire Island National Seashore, NY.

There was a bit of a lull with banded bird sightings until October, when ‘Taco’ from the Holgate Unit, Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ showed up. We had two other birds from the same location last season.

Soon after, a returner from last season arrived back on his same beach to join Taco. Jonesy was originally ‘Mrs Jones’, as in the song, until he was identified as a male and had to be renamed. He originated from the Ninigret NWR, R.I. He and Taco are still keeping company – they were seen together only yesterday.

Finally, a warm Abaco welcome please to the aptly named Bahama Mama, a rare Great Lakes bird from Muskegon State Park, MI, resighted in early November. She was found on the same beach in December last year.

So far this season, all the banded birds have been positively identified except one – a tantalising possible sighting of last year’s ‘Bird of the Season’ Tuna on ‘his’ beach. From a distance shot the bands on one leg looked right… but all-in-all the image is simply not clear enough (and heavily pixellated with onscreen adjustments) to be certain.

If it is indeed Tuna, then five of the banded birds so far are returners, in each case to the same beach as last year. The chart below is a draft (there’ll no doubt be some tidying up as the season progresses)

Credits: Peter Mantle (header image); Keith Kemp; Rhonda Pearce – and with thanks to all monitors

HUNGRY MOUTHS TO FEED: W.I. WOODPECKER CHICKS (PT 2)

August 29, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

HUNGRY MOUTHS TO FEED: W.I. WOODPECKER CHICKS (PT 2)

In just a few days, the West Indian WOODPECKER CHICKS have become bigger, noisier and much hungrier. Their heads are now tinged with red. They have started to compete for food: the first chick to push its way to the entrance hole gets the most food. Often there will be a smaller or weaker chick that gets rather left out in the frantic rush for grub (make that ‘grubs’ – see header image). But I suspect quite a lot of food shrapnel gets dropped and spread around inside the nest, so that in the end all the chicks are well sustained.

Rhonda Pearce has been taking photos of this growing family over the last few days, and if you saw my post last week, you will notice that the size of the chicks and the size of the food morsels jammed down their eager gullets has increased considerably…

A lizard hangs on tightly to the parent’s beak… but sadly it is doomed to be dinner…

Mmmmmmm. It’s so tasty, little one…. and even if it isn’t, it’s going in

Hey, kids, who wants a bug with wriggly legs and feelers?

What do we want? Food! When do we want it? Now!

“Wishin’ and hopin’…”

“Is there any left for me…?”

RELATED POSTS

HUNGRY WIW CHICKS (PT 1)

WEST INDIAN WOODPECKERS

WIWs AT DELPHI

Credits: all photos, Rhonda Pearce

HUNGRY MOUTHS TO FEED: WEST INDIAN WOODPECKER CHICKS

August 25, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

HUNGRY MOUTHS TO FEED: WEST INDIAN WOODPECKER CHICKS

West Indian Woodpeckers are special. So special that Abaco even has its own subspecies Melanerpes superciliaris blakei. They are joyful and noisy. They noisily share parenting duties in an admirably modern way. And did I mention they are noisy?

West Indian Woodpeckers & Chicks (Rhonda Pearce)

The parents set up home together, with both partners taking their turns to choose the furnishings and fit out the nest. They share duties on the nest once the eggs have hatched. And they take turns to feed the nestlings as they grow into increasingly hungry and raucous fledglings.

West Indian Woodpeckers & Chicks (Rhonda Pearce)

This feeding sequence was taken by Rhonda Pearce whose ravenous chick in the header photo is one of the best I have come across. I have never managed to get such a clear shot of desperate chick hunger…

Here’s how a nest can sound when the chicks are young – a weird sort of insistent purring sound. As the chicks get larger – and more competitive – so the volume level increases.

Get this down your throat, you pesky little rascal… West Indian Woodpeckers & Chicks (Rhonda Pearce)

RELATED POSTS

WEST INDIAN WOODPECKERS

WIWs AT DELPHI

Credits: all photos, Rhonda Pearce; audio recording RH @ Delphi Club nesting boxes

BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO (9): GULF FRITILLARIES

August 8, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO (9): GULF FRITILLARIES

It’s been a while since any papilionidae made an appearance on these pages – and much longer since a Gulf fritillary Agraulis vanillae flew in. These very pretty butterflies are far from rare, but like the ATALA hairstreak, they are always a pleasure to see. Here are a few to enjoy.

Gulf Fritillary, Abaco (Charles Skinner) Gulf Fritillary, Neem Farm, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)5 10386393_10152656788408720_3995568288186763659_n

Credits: Charles Skinner (1, 2, 6, 8), Rhonda Pearce (7), Keith Salvesen (3, 4, 5)

“AN OSTENTATION OF PEACOCKS”: FERAL BIRDS ON ABACO

May 10, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

“AN OSTENTATION OF PEACOCKS”: FERAL BIRDS ON ABACO

A year or so ago I wrote a post entitled SOMETHING COMPLETELY “DIFFERENT (OF ABACO)”, a nod to Monty Python and to Nettica Symonette’s long-defunct fishing lodge on the road to Casuarina that it still proudly signposted on the Highway. You can click the link to see the full post and plenty of peacocks. Or, as I mentioned then, peafowl (only the males are peacocks; the females are peahens; and the little ones are peachicks).

Peacock, %22Different of Abaco%22 1 (Rhonda Pearce)

“Different of Abaco” is a great place for birding. An overgrown wilderness with brackish ponds and a *dangerous structure alert* dilapidated building, it was once home to Nettie’s flamingos, reintroduced by her in the hope of reinstating Abaco’s lost breeding population. The experiment did not come off, but another one did. The legacy of her introduction of a few peacocks is very evident today: they have bred very successfully and provide an exotic – and noisy – addition to the breeding bird species on Abaco.

Peacock, %22Different of Abaco%22 3 (Rhonda Pearce)

The evidence from reports suggests that the peafowl are spreading from their base at Different of Abaco and the local Casuarina area. Celia Rogers saw 2 males on the Cherokee road, some 3 or 4 miles to the north. And Rhonda Pearce has more recently found them at the entrance to Bahama Palm Shores, some way to the south (below).

Peacock, Bahama Palm Shores Abaco 2 (Rhonda Pearce) Peacock, Casuarina, Abaco 1 (Rhonda Pearce)

Extent of peafowl range from reported sightings Casuarina, Abaco area map

As I wrote before, “In the wilderness that Different of Abaco has become for many years, the descendants of the original peacocks are breeding contentedly, expanding their population, and are wholly unreliant on human intervention. Verily feral, in fact”. If anyone has encountered peacocks elsewhere than in the DoA / Casuarina area, I’d love to hear about it. A photo would be a bonus!

Peacock, %22Different of Abaco%22 4 (Rhonda Pearce)

OPTIONAL FUN FACTS

The collective noun for peafowl is generally considered to be a “pride”, as with lions. But many bird species have been assigned more than one collective noun – and many of the more unusual ones are historic, dating back to medieval times, in particular The Boke of St Albans (1486) by a nun called Dame Juliana Berners, which included lists of collective nouns for ‘companys of beestys and fowlys’. These were known as ‘terms of venery’, and many related to falconry and hunting. She also wrote the presumed first fishing guide, A treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle (her catch records do not survive).

Anyway, apart from ‘pride’, peacocks are also collectively known as a ‘muster’; and far more descriptively as an ‘ostentation’.

D of A: the glory days

Credits: All peafowl Rhonda Pearce; final image π “The Abacos” online

“I GET AROUND”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (3)

October 26, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

“I GET AROUND”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (3)

Hi again, readers of Mr Harbour’s blog. Tuna here. This is part 3 of my diary. I’m 4½ months old now, and getting on famously here on Abaco. Especially now the big wind and waves have gone away [Hurricane Joaquin – ed]. Someone called me ‘Abaco’s favourite plover’, which really fluffed up my feathers. I’ve started to explore a bit and meet more birds just like me*. Turns out they are all Travellers from the North too – what are the chances? [100% – ed]

I’ve met lots of birds that are different from me, too. Some live here all the time, others are Travellers from the North too. I’m relying on Mr H here to show you some of the guys I hang out with these days. We all kind of mix up and if you don’t try to find meat strings where the bigger birds want to find them, it’s very friendly. Actually they are all bigger than me!

Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Wilson’s Plover (all on Abaco)

I’ve made my first trip to a different beach. I decided to fly round and explore, and I saw lots more sand so I flew there and stayed a couple of days. Like a little holiday. A nice man [Keith Kemp] saw me there and told Mr H about my coloured bands. That’s how he knew I’d moved and he told my watcher Rhonda so she didn’t go looking for me on my home beach and get worried that I wasn’t there. Then I flew back there after a couple of days and Rhonda found me there again yesterday.

Tuna on his vacation from Watching Bay to Winding Bay. Note meat string in #1

This is me back on my beach after my trip. Green on Blue (L); Black on Grey (R) = TUNA

This is a New Friend on my beach, one of 3. They don’t have any bands but they are Travellers from the North like me. In this game I lie low in a hole in the sand and my NF rushes at me kicking sand up like a crazy bird. Fun, huh?

More news from me soon. Cheeps from Tuna.

Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco jpg

TUNA’S FIRST 4½ MONTHS

JUN 10 Hatched Edwin B. Forsythe NWR (Holgate Center), New Jersey
JUN 11 Banded & measured by Michelle Stantial
JUL 05 Fledged
AUG 28 First sighted on Abaco – preliminary ID
SEP 16 Seen again on the same beach – ID confirmed
SEP 22 Last sighting before Hurricane Joaquin
SEP 28 Paula (Tuna’s mother) re-sighted on Joulter Cays, Andros
OCT 03 Tuna safely back on the beach again after Hurricane Joaquin
OCT 20-23 Expedition to Winding Bay (ID there on Oct 22)
OCT 24 Found back on Watching Bay beach

This Diary extract shows how an individual banded bird’s movements can be monitored within its chosen area, so that a picture can be formed of its habitat choices and range.

For details of all this season’s PIPL sightings, check out ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH

TUNA’S DIARY (1)

TUNA’S DIARY 2

EDWIN B FORSYTHE NWR

CONSERVE WILDLIFE FOUNDATION of NJ

“THEY FOUND MY MUM ON ANDROS”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (2)

October 9, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

“THEY FOUND MY MUM ON ANDROS”: PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST (2)

Hello again, readers of Mr Harbour’s blog. My name is Tuna. This is the second part of my diary. Last time HERE he called it an ‘autobiography’, but that was a bit pompous of him, I think. It’s 4 months now since I cracked out and after my long trip from that place [the Holgate Unit of the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey – ed.], I’m having a good time on Abaco – see my picture above. Michelle, who put my 4 cool rings on, would be proud of me I think.

Since my last post (which was also my first post! Ha!) some things have been happening to me. There I was, safely on my nice beach [Winding Bay, Cherokee Sound – map below] when the wind started to get scary and the sea kept coming further up the beach. And a whole lot more splashy. So I just hid at the back of the beach until it got better again. I knew if that nice lady came back to see me it would mean I could come out again. And she did. So I did. I showed her my bands so she’d know it was me. Green on blue; black on gray. That’s me and no other bird.

Showing Rhonda my bands so she knows me

Mr Harbour wrote and told people about how I was ok after a big storm. He said:

“TUNA THE PIPL: UNRUFFLED BY HURRICANE JOAQUIN” Oct 3. Despite big seas & high winds reaching N Baha on the fringes of the hurricane, Tuna has returned safely to Watching Bay. Photos clearly showing bands. π Rhonda Pearce”

A lot of people [c2000] read about this and Michelle said “yay!!! go tuna!!!”, so maybe people had been a bit worried about me. People passed the story round. What ever a ‘Chorlito Valiente’ is, it sounds good and I’m glad to be one. I’m doing just fine, thank you…

Since then I had THE BEST NEWS. My mum Paula has been found! She’s gone to a different beach that’s not very close to here [Joulter Cays, Andros]. She got a different leg thing called a “UR Green Flag PE2” and somebody saw her! I’m so excited (and I hope my dad Ross is safe too). She was in a crowd of 32 other birds just like her, and a lot of other birds friends too.

Joulter Cays, Andros, Sep 28. Thousands of shorebirds including over 100 PIPL. Including Paula.

Tuna’s mum Paula, one of a group of 32 piping plovers on Joulter Cays

“UR Green Flag PE2”

Joulter Cays, pinpointing Paula’s exact position 25.304095; -78.126642

I hope if I get that feeling again that I need to fly a long way, my mum gets it too. And my dad. Then we might all end up on the same beach where I cracked out! But I’m planning to stay on my own beach for now. More news from me soon. Cheeps from Tuna.

Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco jpg

TUNA’S FIRST FOUR MONTHS

JUN 10 Hatched
JUN 11 Banded & measured
JUL 05 Fledged
AUG 28 First sighted on Abaco – preliminary ID
SEP 16 Seen again on the same beach – ID confirmed
SEP 22 Last sighting before Hurricane Joaquin
SEP 28 Paula re-sighted on Joulter Cays, Andros
OCT 03 Tuna safely back on the beach again after Hurricane Joaquin

This Diary extract shows that not only can an individual banded bird’s migration movements be monitored, but also (with a bit of luck) a parent or sibling – even though they may chose to overwinter in quite different places. It is of particular significance if they then return to the same area in summer for breeding.

For details of all this season’s PIPL sightings, check out ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH

TUNA’S DIARY (1)

EDWIN B FORSYTHE NWR

CONSERVE WILDLIFE FOUNDATION of NJ

Credits: thanks to bander Michelle Stantial, birder Rhonda Pearce, CWFNJ & cohorts, Matt Jeffery and all other providers of info snippets; Birdorable for the cartoon; and as ever Xeno-Canto for the recording

“I’M WITH THE BAND…” PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST

September 21, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

“I’M WITH THE BAND…” PIPING PLOVER TUNA’S GUEST POST

I was born on June 10th in the Holgate Unit of the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. If I’d known then what ‘beautiful’ was, this would have been it.

Meg being picked up for measuring and banding

Banding Meg with a unique colour combo for ID

Beak and leg measuring

This isn’t me but was taken quite near my bit of beach. Can you see the other chick?

I got good at finding my own food, going further away from the nest and trying out the water. My wings seemed to be starting to work a bit. Quite soon I felt nearly ready to have a go at flying.

August 28 Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco. Rhonda Pearce’s photos led to provisional ID of Tuna

There was plenty to eat on the beach, and it was quite sheltered from the wind. It seemed safe. I liked it a lot and decided to stay there

On Sep 16 I saw the same lady again, and she saw me. She was very careful not to get me worried, and she pointed that thing at me again. Then she walked away. I hope she comes back. She seems nice.

Sept 16 Watching Bay, Cherokee, Abaco. Rhonda’s new photos led to confirmed ID of Tuna Tuna the Piping Plover: from New Jersey to Abaco (Rhonda Pearce)

I’m planning to stay on this beach for now. More news from me soon. Cheeps from Tuna.