Jo's Morning Walk: Marbled Godwit....Pretty and Pink

Oct. 20, 2014

I first stopped at the San Elijo Lagoon on Manchester Avenue in Cardiff. I searched quite a while but the bird subjects were few and the tide was just starting to go out. Looking west through the camera lens at the Pole Trail, I noticed there were lots of birds flying and landing there. It was time to drive over to the Solana Beach side of the Lagoon...

The hummingbirds are starting to get active again. The males are getting brighter plumage and this little male Anna's Hummingbird was already defending his turf at the entrance to the Rios trails.

Walking north on the Pole Road Trail at Rios, I came to the area where there is a big T in the channel. It is one of the main tide channels that comes straight west from the visitor center side of the lagoon and connects with a smaller channel that runs along the east side of the Pole Trail. If you go to the bottom of this blog, you can click on the "location link" to N Rios ave in Solana Beach and get a great satellite map that will show you all the channels and trails. Three Marbled Godwits sleeping.

Clumps of washed up seaweed is used as perching spots for our shorebirds. I spot a Ruddy Turnstone. It is to the far right.

Now the Ruddy Turnstone is taking a bath as the Marbled Godwit preens to your left. A Willet snoozes in the foreground and a group of Dowitchers are to the right...

To the north of the channel, I spot a Marbled Godwit just finished with bathing and he is wing flapping to shake off the excess water.

Marbled Godwit..."Limosa fedoa". They are 18 inches long with a wing span of 29 inches.

Largest of the four Godwit species.

This Marbled Godwit is in non-breeding plumage with solid buffy coloring on chest and body. When in breeding plumage the chest and lower body is covered with bar patterns...

The females have longer bills and are slightly larger in body size than the males.

This Godwit is really winding up and serious about drying out his wing feathers...

The flapping is so animated, it looks as though the Godwit will fly in place.

Yup! He lifts off slightly almost clearing the water... exposing his dark gray legs and feet.

A few seconds of air time.

This is nature's way to blow dry the feathers... all pretty and pink! Their beak is pink and her feathers are more like cinnamon in color.

Single Godwit flies by but there is something different about this one... it has barring on the underside of the wing feathers. I have never seen one with any markings on the underside of the wings before.

On the west side of the Pole Road Trail (see location map) there is also a tide channel that runs parallel with the trail. I spot a Godwit foraging for food very close to the trail. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not fly away as I walked closer and started to take some shots, clicking away, he continued foraging for breakfast.

They use the long beak with sensitive tip probing in the mudflats for aquatic animals. In summer they eat insects, roots, and seeds. During migration in coastal areas they eat mollusks, crustations, and any thing that lives in the mudflats and shallow waters.

They can submerge their whole head underwater if they need to as they forage for food.

I have watched them probing the mudflats at low tide and pulling out a huge long worm-like creature that are almost as long as the bird. I have a fairly strong stomach, but watching the Godwit consume the giant worm was quite high on the yucky meter!