06/03/12
An 8.95ft high tide rises on the Cockenoe Island Sand Spit at 23:02, a few friends and I were there by boat to witness the event.
Previous to this tide there were 600 plus Common Terns on this small sand spit with about 150-200 nest.
Damage may have already happened from almost as high of tides, plus severe weather the day or so before. I was not there to see that, so this is what I found.
The USFW signs are now well below the tide line,there is little beach front left for the terns and oystercatchers.Many eggs are lost with this tide.
The terns settle on whatever land is left, perhaps crushing the eggs that survived the tide?
Hopefully, they will renest somewhere else in a much safer place and do well.
Several warning signs also also lost to the tides and sea.
On the main island, I happened on this resting Black Skimmer.
Plus this young American Oystercatcher, he or she also had a sibling that I missed in the photo.
Now take a very good look at this Oystercatcher, it has an inordinary amount of legs, eight legs in total!
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Three chicks huddled in momma's feathers!
Do you see them?
Another AMOY chick along the shoreline.
As beautiful as these deer are, how many bird eggs do they smash on the islands while they are browsing?
This deer was very close to the above Oystercatcher chicks.
Peck Ledge Lighthouse.
She took a beating in last years storms, the deck railing is gone on the south east side.
But something new has been added.
Mr. Osprey has a nest, I haven't seen the Mrs. but will keep an eye out.
Over to Goose Island, the Great Black-backed Gull chicks are running about.
QT's
They are quite a sight!
I look forward to photographing this hatch every year.
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