Up close and personal with a ruddy turnstone



Another photo from the pontoon.
There is a sandbar in Rondeau bay that can be good for shorebirds. The down side is that cormorants use it as a roost and it stinks to high heaven.

We were only about 8 feet away from this turnstone. There were 5 or 6 on the sandbar and they didn't seem to mind the smell.

Arenaria interpres

The male Ruddy Turnstone makes nest-like scrapes in the ground within his territory, often close to the final site selected by the female. The male's scrapes are made before the female starts to lay eggs, and are part of the courtship and nest site selection process. No eggs are laid in the scapes the male makes.
As their name suggests, turnstones often forage by turning over stones and other objects.

source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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