return to Parker River
Today was my first visit to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge since March 31st - the day before the birds took sole ownership of the beach. The refuge is a nesting area for endangered piping plovers; the beaches close on April 1st each year and reopen when the birds have moved on.
I arrived on the beach when the tide direction was changing, low tide switching to tide coming in. Usually a low tide walk is an easy walk. This one was not. I could see the high tide mark (from 6 hours earlier) much higher than the ocean's edge. The beach was slightly sloped from the edge of the sand dunes to partway across the expanse of sand. There was a steep slope leading to the water's edge, a very slanted surface for walking. I suppose it was a good thing I needed to walk that slope in two different directions to even out the odd placement of my feet! And oops! sorry - I wasn't able to capture that interesting angle in a photo.
The waves crashed on the angled beach. The wind picked up granules of sand and drove them through the air.
As much as I understand and respect the beach closure for the piping plovers (after all, it is a wildlife refuge) I'm always glad to have access again.
