New Bird Behavior

The beach was relatively quiet and empty today, well empty of people that is. The tide was still pretty high and it was really cloudy on a weekday so I don’t think a lot of people wanted to join me on the beach. There is a woman and her two kids just down the beach from me, they seem to be enjoying the empty beach. The younger of the kids, who looks to be about 2 years old, is running through the water with rain boats on, as the woman chances her yelling, “get out of the water, it is cold, and you will get sick.” The old child who appears to be maybe 5 years old is picking up shells off the beach and examing them as if she is trying to figure out what species they are.

I turned my attention from the cute little girls and their mother who was trying to wrangle them in, to the flock of squawking birds. At first sight, I was amazed how many were present today. There seemed to be more today than during previous visits. Also today, even though there was some exposed beach all the birds seemed to be hanging out on the water. Not only were the birds hanging out on the water but also they were doing something I have never seen them do before. For lack of a better term, they were bathing themselves. Some were preening like normal but most of them were dunking their heads in and out of the water splashing water over their backs. Some were even dunking their entire bodies in the water or doing flips or rolls in the water. They were clearly cleaning themselves via a bath of sorts. This was a new behavior I haven’t seen before but if only one or even two of them were doing it, I don’t think I would have noticed and paid as much attention to it but most of the flock were doing it. It is as if they collectively decided that it is bath time. Since I hadn’t noticed this behavior before it seemed weird but yet very entertaining too me.