On August first I was delighted to see what I think was a fledgling American oystercatcher chick, who was testing its wings. It was about half the size of the parents, who were relaxing on the other side of the rock. We first saw the parents July 19. Even though I took these photos with the telescopic lens, I find myself wishing for an even more powerful one! The flights were pretty short – taking off and landing smoothly are no doubt the most difficult part.
How cool is this, Barbara? It’s always so neat to see the young ones (of any species) learning to fly or walk or crawl. Something very special about it. Nice pictures.
It truly is a special thing to see the next generation taking flight, literally or figuratively. I’ve enjoyed seeing my own “little ones” make the world their own. 🙂
Beautiful, Barbara. And as Kathy mentioned, cool! Well done. 🙂
Thank you, Robin! 🙂 I wonder if you ever see oystercatchers down on your eastern shore?
They don’t look familiar to me, Barbara, but I’m still learning the birds. If I do spot any, I’ll let you know. 🙂
That would be great, Robin! Someone I know has spotted them on the New Jersey shore…
love, Love, LOVE these exquisite moments captured on film.
Thank you so very much, Laurie!
Well, this IS embarrassing! I now think that the bird testing its wings was a common tern! Sybil posted some pictures of common terns on her blog and I did some more comparing of pictures on other sites – yep – pretty sure it was a common tern!