Sanderlings in feeding frenzy, Calidris alba, Tijuana Slough Estuary. Every now and then I'll see a whole flock of birds go crazy over a patch of sand. I even tried digging around in one of those patches once but didn't find much (different birds, different beach). Best I can tell, there appear to be patches of sea worms along the beach. Why the worms are clustered in little patches I cannot tell you but the birds love them. Now, realize that I only found what looked like the remains of one worm post birds so, of course, I could be wrong about what WAS down there. At least I didn't get bit by anything digging around down there to have a peak. The other question I had was how the heck do they know they've found a worm under all that sand? Do they have some sort of sensory organs on the end of their beak? Do beaks have nerves in them kind of like your being able to feel something with your fingers? Too many questions for this late at night! I'm going to bed and if I'm lucky, someone will have answered them when I wake back up!
1 comment:
I hope you’ve found the answer to this exciting questions, I was a little curious myself and indeed they have nerves, but not on the end of their beak. It’s like poking around in the dark with extremely long fingernails, one end of the fingernails is obviously dead, the other not, fortunately.
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