Everyone loves Clam Pass Beach in Naples, Florida. Wander there during low tide on a sunny day, and see who is hanging around the beach. The visitors and residents are yakking, snoozing, or preening. Of course, I mean the gulls, terns, and shorebirds, who are migrating through or are getting ready for the breeding season.
Clam Pass
Clam Pass Beach is reached by walking along an elevated boardwalk. Check the mangroves and other trees as you walk along. You may find warblers, woodpeckers, or songbirds. Looking closely, you will see many spiders in their webs or Mangrove Tree Crabs, scuttling around tree trunks. As you traverse the bridge that crosses over the pass, you get great views of the waterway. During low tide, you will see larger shorebirds and waders feeding there.
Birds on sandbar
On a January morning, when a Polar Vortex was moving over most of Canada and the US, I was birding the beach in shorts and bare feet. I had lots of avian company. The male of a pair of nesting Ospreys was out fishing for his mate. Two Magnificent Frigatebirds cruised the sky. The sandbars and a good portion of the beach were covered in gulls and terns.
Sandwich Tern resting among Royal Terns
With that many birds, it is a challenge to count them. I was lucky that other birders shared their numbers with me. There were approximately 800 Laughing Gulls, 50 Herring Gulls, 70 Ring-billed Bulls, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 100 Royal Terns, and 420 Black Skimmers. There were even more birds on the other side of the lagoon, which weren’t counted because they were farther away. Finding anything different in that crowd is like “Where’s Waldo”. I was lucky to find a Sandwich Tern, sitting among the other terns.
Willet
Keeping company with the gulls were Brown Pelicans, which joined them on the sandbars. Also, shorebirds plied the water’s edges, avoiding the gulls’ snapping jaws. There were Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, Willets, and a single Ruddy Turnstone.
It is always good to visit there regularly. Sometimes there are guest appearances. Two weeks ago, I saw an American Avocet. In other years, birders have seen Northern Gannet and American Oystercatcher.
I highly recommend birding with sand between your toes and the gulf’s breeze ruffling your hair. It is a wonderful way to spend any part of the day, especially when the tide is low.
Note: All pictures by Leslie Kinrys.
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