Oystercatcher’s territory

‘Elephant Seal’, 5, ‘Fewer females are visible on Middle Rocks. The tagged female has returned to Great Race Island despite having completed her moult. The larger females on Middle Rocks are in various stages of their moults.’, ‘Ryan’, ’20:56:43 ,
-93, ‘2010-05-12’,

“Brown Pelicans are becoming a common sight at Race Rocks. See the log of May 12, 2010: Ryan Murphy

‘The diversity of bird life continues to increase with the appearance of
Dunlins, Brandts and Pacific Loons today.
Small groups of Brandts flew West throughout the day, followed by several large flocks numbering up to 100 birds in the evening.
A mature Brown pelican roosted here for the night, much to the gulls ” dissatisfaction.
There are still 2 pairs of Harlequin ducks spending their days around Great Race Island, plus
4 Whimbrels were again seen on the SW corner of the island where up to
3 Black Oystercatcher pairs have staked nesting territories. There are a total of
7 pairs of Oystercatchers with territories on the island, but only 2 confirmed nests so far, and of those only one nest with 2 eggs at the moment. Could be a bumper year as a maximum of 5 breeding Oystercatcher pairs have been recorded in the past. ‘,
‘Northern Sea Lion’, 10, ‘The numbers of Northern Sea Lions have been down the past several days, however they are still finding food in the reserve. A commotion right above the tidal turbine today attracted a number of gulls, and I could soon see a Northern sea lion was thrashing a large fish on the surface. Reviewing my photos it turns out the sea lion had captured a wolf eel! Long tasty filets on those protected fish, I can ”t say I ”m not envious!’,

‘Ryan’, ’21:10:38 ,

Dunlins at Race Rocks

PB-dunlinjan2008

Pam Birley took some nice images of Dunlins at Race Rocks today. The location of Race Rocks Islands is important for migratory birds both fall and spring, and overwintering birds.  See her Flickr site for more Dunlin photos.

See other dunlin posts here:

https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/dunlin/

Also one elephant seal male visible.

 

Calidris alpina: Dunlin–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Dunlin, Calidris alpina … photo by Rod King March 18, 2021 ( click to see size comparison with a Canada Goose)

Dunlin?

Dunlin, Calidris alpina in winter plumage, photo by Anne Stewart, Ecoguardian, October 14/2014

Dunlin?3

Dunlin photo by Anne Stewart, Oct 14, 2014

Dunlin

Dunlin in summer breeding plumage ( May 2, 2012-Mike Robinson)

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-Phylum Vertebrata
Class Aves
Order Charadriiformes
Family Scolopacidae
Genus Calidris
Species alpina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Name: Dunlin

The video shows the typical feeding pattern of the dunlin, probing the debris at the bottom of tidepools for crustaceans, insects and larvae.

raisablkturnand-1In this picture taken by Raisa Mirza in December 2011,  you can compare the Dunlin in it’s winter plumage with the Black turnstone. They often feed together in the winter months around the tidepools and over  the rain-saturated lawn areas.

 

See other references on Dunlins posted on this website

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy

This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by a website  observer, faculty, staff and students  of Lester B. Pearson College Date:
Oct 2006
Pam Birley