My favorite is the nonchalant heron that hangs around the fisherman. If a heron could whistle that’s what this one would be doing, acting as if he just happened to be strolling down the beach when he came upon this bucket of fresh-caught snapper.

But there are other birds to love here: the brown pelican, the royal tern, least tern, and the endangered black skimmer with its yellowish-orange beak and its cool eye. There’s the gawky willet and the adorable snowy plover. There is the gull with its distinctive cry.

There are the birds I’ve shared the beach with this past week. With them I have gazed at the ocean and walked into the wind. I will miss them … and a whole lot more.