Love. And the art of nest searching

Love is in the air. Literally. I have been here for 12 days and have bore witness to the progression of the shorebird breeding season from a few enthusiastic individuals to an eruption of vocalizations, courtship displays, and egg laying. If you were to walk in to a dimly lit room full of divorcees, tipsy on wine, listening to the amorous songs of Marvin Gaye...the sexual charge wouldn't hold a candle to these little buggers.

It's for the birds. Caught in the act.

Over the past week I have had to refresh myself on the breeding behavior of Dunlin and have often found myself smiling at their aerial displays accompanied by low buzzing, wing waves to the ladies, and the males' attempts to create the 'perfect' nests for their mates. They may not find their behavior humorous but at least one shorebird biologist out there does. And I find it funny not only because they are so determined but also because these codes of sexual conduct reverberate throughout the animal kingdom (humans included).

By my third day here I was cueing in to all of these behaviors in the attempt to locate the end result of all of this excited behavior, a nest containing four small eggs. Now-every peep, buzz, or mouse-like movement in the grass brings me to an immediate halt in the hopes that it will lead me to a Dunlin nest.  Sure, finding tiny camouflaged nests amongst kilometers of flat grassland may make me feel like a super-sleuth, but it does have its reasons beyond self gratification. My research is focused on the return rates of individuals to nesting sites so confirming new nests of previously captured birds is an integral component of the data I will be collecting during this breeding season.


The Fen-home to many shorebird nests

It took three days of seemingly aimless walking for me to finally find my first Dunlin nest. I had many empty nest cups, birds disappearing into the grass never to be seen again, and phantom sounds leading me nowhere before I finally found this beauty:

I'm not too proud to use a tired cliché yet again...finding shorebird nests is kind of like finding a needle in a haystack. The search offers many miles of walking with very little reward. However, since this first nest I have had great success and we are now up to a whopping 14 nests found. Hold the applause audience, there will be more to come. At this point you may be worried that I am working too hard, but fear not, I still find time to eat, sleep, and take a few pictures along the way.