A Visit to Chancery Lane

A Dry Chancery

The rainfall we were having over the last few days encouraged me to pay a visit to Chancery Lane, which is on the south coast of the island, to see what effect it had on this wet area.  On my way there I passed through the town of Oistins and made a check for seabirds.  I saw three small white Terns fishing close to shore.  These birds’ bill and legs were red and they had a black crown with bright white plumage. They were no doubt, Roseate Terns.  As I was about to continue on my journey to Chancery, a fourth tern flew by.  This one appeared slightly larger, with longer wings than that of the Roseate Tern.  Its back was also shades darker than that of the Roseates.  Could this be a Common Tern? 

Brown Pelican

An object bobbing in the sea about 400 to 500 feet out also caught my attention.  On closer inspection, I realized it to be a Brown Pelican, a rare but yearly visitor to our shores.

The stop at Oistins, while fulfilling, was not the main purpose for me being on the south coast that afternoon,  so I continued on my way to the Chancery Lane Swamp.  When I arrived, I was surprised to find that the area was still mostly dry, with just a few “puddles” here and there.  A few shorebirds, made up of

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones and a Sanderling, were relaxing around the larger catchments.  The air was full with the loud calls of the Black-whiskered Vireos and Golden Warblers.  With the prolonged dry spell we had, or continue to have, I guess it was wishful thinking to believe that the first real rain of the season would have much of an effect on this wet area.  However, it was good to see that the micro-ecosystem cycle that comes to life when water accumulates in this area, was beginning to take place.  With every collection of water, hundreds of Fiddler Crabs congregated.  This is one of the basic food sources and just a glance of the swamp at Chancery Lane slowly coming alive, and not a minute too soon.  We move swiftly into the migration season.  So please join me in a rain dance.

Fiddler Crabs

Sanderling