Post #514201

Some photos of Purple Pipers at Jones Beach, NY, last Saturday (Feb. 28). Unusually there were dozens if not more of these shorebirds present, and not only on their favored rocky habitats, but running around on the beach in multitudes with Sanderlings and Dunlins. I suspect the intense cold and snow storms we've had over the past two months affected their food supply on the jetties, leading them to forage with their cousins. These birds nest in the Arctic tundra and overwinter in our middle latitudes. In a sense, by favoring the expansion of the polar vortex, climate change was bringing the Arctic conditions they migrate away from right to them. #birds #birding #birdphotography #birdsofmastodon #biodiversity #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #winterbirds #shorebirds #peeps #PurpleSandpiper