Learning to Fly

I took a walk around the tundra briefly today and was surprised at how fast these birds grow up. I ran into quite a few juvenile birds that can now run, fly, feed themselves and call to their parents. The first was the Long-tailed Jaeger juveniles that I've posted pics of in the past. They now fly and call, and don't let us approach nearly as close as we used to. I hope we get another nicer day (45 degrees, cloudy and windy today!), I'd like to get some better pictures of them.

Can't pick this guy up anymore.

I then ran into a disgruntled adult Red-necked Phalarope. I quickly saw this....thing swimming and awkwardly walking away from me.

I'm not sure if this is cute or disturbing.

It seems Ptarmigan all group together after the breeding season and during brood rearing. I saw an abundance of Rock Ptarmigan, and only a couple Willow. There were also hoards of young running around, now probably too big for the Jaegers to eat. These Ptarmigan have an average clutch size of 10-11 eggs, quite a handful to keep track of!

Young Ptarmigan of some kind.

I also happened across a very bright shorebird that had me excited for a moment. I had yet to see a full juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, and this one was exceptionally red overall. However, it is way too early to be claiming a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

Juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper. Not enough going on with the eye ring, eye stripe or crown for a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

We are running out of things to do at camp. After tomorrow, we may be completely done with everything, leaving at least a week of free time. Not sure what we will do with all that time, maybe I'll put some serious effort into my new website design. I recently revisited my forgotten website (www.pavlikphotography.com). Why didn't anyone tell me it looks horrible?! Seriously, I'm appalled.