Jetty Island, 2009 v 1

I led a small group of Eastside Audubon photography buffs to Jetty Island yesterday, and it was an incredible day to be walking around. While temperatures around the Sound hit 90 and above, the island was a moderate 75-ish near the water.

Amazing amounts of Very Large drift logs and seaweed onshore... Alternating warm and cold water on the shoreline, sometimes separated by as little as two feet of distance...

Among the fun sights:

• Great Blue Herons fishing in the mudflats above the lagoon,



• Barn Swallows fledging near the new "Kraig Hansen Office Building,"
• Caspian Terns, though not as many as in previous years,



• numerous Bonaparte's Gulls, including at least one in breeding plumage,



• far more Spotted Sandpipers than I can remember seeing in previous years,


• a single Short-billed Dowitcher,
• a few Semi-palmated Plovers,
• near the end of our stay, Western and Least Sandpipers that treated us as scenery, allowing decent closeups,




• a nest of Osprey on the east middle of the island, with two relatively-new chicks, and
  



• a pair of what I think were just-hatched Western Gulls, on the closed dock next to the island "marina"
  

There were also a few unidentified much smaller terns (about 1/3 smaller than the prevailing Caspian) flying around.

Our next visit should be in about two weeks (tides). If you are interested in joining us, let me know...