"Western" Willet, Royal Tern, skimmers
Best full species of the day was a Royal Tern at Milford Pt, seen roosting and feeding around the mouth of the river. No photos of that bird; too distant and too brief.
15 Black Skimmers at Sandy Point, several of which were paired off and investigating sites around the tern colony. Hopefully they settle in here for the summer.
Most interesting sighting of the day was of a ratty first-summer Willet at Sandy Point I am calling a "Western" Willet. Structurally the bird looks fine to me for Western. It is overall long and lanky (Eastern is more compact). Bill is long and thin throughout (Eastern bill averages shorter and thicker). If anyone has any thoughts on this bird, please leave a comment below (comments are always welcome on any post, by the way).
15 Black Skimmers at Sandy Point, several of which were paired off and investigating sites around the tern colony. Hopefully they settle in here for the summer.
Most interesting sighting of the day was of a ratty first-summer Willet at Sandy Point I am calling a "Western" Willet. Structurally the bird looks fine to me for Western. It is overall long and lanky (Eastern is more compact). Bill is long and thin throughout (Eastern bill averages shorter and thicker). If anyone has any thoughts on this bird, please leave a comment below (comments are always welcome on any post, by the way).
This is good because I don't think we have any kind of feel for this species' status in spring in CT. The fairly recent efforts to ID this form here have centered on fall migration.
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