No Nests on North Beach!

Steve and I were up extra early this morning expecting Adam to be at the dock by 530.  He called when he close to Ossabaw, so I hopped in the truck to pick him up.  It was still very dark and I was lucky to see a Chuck Will's Widow, a nocturnal ground bird, on the road to the dock.  I waited and watched as the lights from Adam's boat navigated around the shallows just off the island.  He really slowed at the narrow passage coming into Ossabaw, and I worried he might run aground.  Soon enough, he was at our dock and we unloaded new supplies and a long awaited package from my parents.  Steve and Adam soon headed to the North beaches, since Adam wanted to see some nests, of course.  Before I headed out, I gave Paul Mitchell an apple for breakfast.

I started my patrol on South Beach, not expecting much since it's been relatively calm for some time.  The high tide last night also washed up high and its timing could very likely wash over crawls.  We have to be extra careful scanning the beach with these tides.  At the south end I saw a crawl, and as I looked up the beach, knew it was a nest.  Only a couple minutes of work and I located the eggs.  I decided to relocate this nest fearing a washover from a storm event.  Soon the eggs were in their new home (SB11) and I continued down the beach.  Soon, I saw another crawl.  This crawl was on the southern tip, the second nest very south, with SB11 the first.  She climbed high up a steep dune.  Shortly later, I was back in the truck getting word from Steve that he and Adam only had three false crawls on North and were going to walk North Middle.  I continued toward the end of South and a disturbance at the high tide/wrack/grass line caught my eye.  I got out and saw that it was indeed a crawl, not through sand, but through thick, dense, marsh grass.  I followed it into hog rooting.  After probing for a bit, and digging up some rooted areas, I walked away, this one being a false crawl.  I went slow on my return trip in case some other barely noticeable tracks showed up.  There turned out to be none, so I drove to South Middle.

The routine was the same.  I got to the ATV and drove past the sad Wilson's Plover nest - the three eggs are gone.  No broken shells, just some animal tracks.  I was so sad to hear the news from Steve yesterday.  The nest was beautiful and it would have been so neat to watch the chicks from hatching.  I continued to the beach and started the patrol.  As I headed north, I was scanning the beach to my left, randomly glancing ahead for objects in the way (large debris) and started to hear the familiar pips of the plovers calling to their babies.  I looked ahead and there was a tiny chick running right in front in front of me.  I swerved to the right as it ran up the beach, I'm sure getting scolded the entire time by its mother.  Farther up the beach I was treated with an easy nest, and a not so easy false crawl.  All in all, though, it was a treat to have all the nests in the south today.  I just feel bad for Adam as today was the first day in about a month that there were no nests on North  Beach.

After I got home, and after a large lunch, I started putting some things together for Steve's birthday trip.  I hope my lack of planning is okay and he has a good time anyway.  Be sure to wish Steve a happy day tomorrow!