January 28, 2021
Victoria Beach is a magical little place that’s easy on the eyes to say the least. It’s located in Laguna Beach, right in the center of coastal Orange County. There were friendly lifeguards, cute Coppertone babies, a fairy-tale castle, and as an added bonus, a pair of very active Black Turnstones. These birds might look unassuming at first, but their dark plumage is quite distinct from other shorebirds.
The pair was darting across the sand, feeding on top of seaweed beds and snagging crustaceans from rocks. They were completely uninterested in me and seemed to always have one eye on the water. They’d frantically search for food on whatever rock or seaweed bed they were standing on, look up to check the status of an approaching wave, go back to eating, then retreat to a “safe” spot just prior to getting drenched.
I’m a sucker for birds found exclusively in certain parts of the world. Black Turnstones reside strictly on western North American coasts. They winter along the Pacific coast, primarily in areas with rocky habitat, and head north to their breeding grounds off the coast of Alaska in the spring. Their non-breeding plumage is displayed in the photographs above. Note their solid dark backs, breasts, and heads, with stark white underparts. They develop white patches behind their bills during the breeding season, as well as streaks of white throughout their usually all-dark heads and breasts. The white stripe down their backs is seen in all plumages and is especially dramatic in flight.
I didn’t have my binoculars (or glasses) with me when we first arrived, so I wasn’t able to identify the turnstones until we took a trip back to the car to retrieve my camera. All I knew was they appeared much darker than birds in the usual shorebird crowd. I’m certainly grateful they stuck around long enough for me to sneak in a couple of shots.
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Gone Birdin' 