Silver Sands chicks 3 Aug 10

The Silver Sands chicks are about 30 days old today, 3 Aug 10. They have moved to the relative safety and seclusion of the area near Fletcher's Creek outlet. One of the chicks flew about 30 feet today, staying about 3 feet off the ground. The female adult continues to tend them, chasing all intruders, including a Semipalmated Plover. Soon the chicks will be fully fledged; perhaps they will join the staging Piping Plovers at Milford Point where today there were at least 8 fledglings and 1 adult with many migrating shorebirds (esp Ruddy Turnstone and Semipalmated Plover). Of course the star of the day at Milford Point was the White-tailed Kite, discovered two days ago across the river in Stratford, who was sitting on a sandbar just off the spit much of the day.