marbled godwit ~ 10/12/11 ~ Morro Strand Beach

marbled godwit
Limosa fedoa

I have better pictures of marbled godwits, but I want to show the time of year and a different location. I love their long, black-tipped, pink bills. They're quite entertaining to watch as they poke their bills, sometimes up to their eyeballs, into the sand looking for goodies. I wonder how they know where to poke, because they seem to be fairly successful with about 1 out of every 3-4 pokes yielding something to eat. I don't know why, but it surprised me to find out they summer in "the northern Great Plains into southern Canada" (see the South Dakota Birds and Birding link in the common name ID above). The next post is a long-billed curlew, which looks very similar.

godwit, willet, gull ~ 02/05/10 ~ Monterey Municipal Beach

marbled godwit, willet, & gull
Limosa fedoa & Catoptrophorus semipalmatus

We saw a huge flock of shore birds on the beach, a calm one which we normally visit for grunion greeting nights. Once we got closer, it looked like there were 2 kinds of birds chasing the waves and pecking at the sand. The marbled godwits are the tan birds with two-toned beaks and the willets are the grey birds.