There were dozens of tern chicks at Nickerson along with a healthy colony of Black Skimmers and I saw a lot of Oystercatchers. I also saw one Piping Plover in the middle of the beach. I heard him calling and I heard another though I did not see it. I didn’t spend anytime near the waters edge but will be doing that soon.
I did see that the tide had come up very high and washed away over a dozen tern eggs. Still there were loads of little ones smattered across the dune area—running out hastily to be fed. The little one featured above was one of a two chicks waiting to be fed. The feedings seem so violent especially compared to the way oystercatchers feed their young.
We watched as an adult brought in some type of small crab to feed to her young—at first they rejected it over and over but she was persistent and kept taking it away so that no other bird would grab it, then forced it on the chicks over and over again. Finally one of them accepted it and chocked it down and I do mean chocked.