Irene Update #3

Irene arrived this morning, with birds in tow.

What a hectic day, with great birds seen from Cape May to inland Massachusetts and probably beyond. The jackpot birds were the several (!) White-tailed Tropicbirds seen between NJ, NY, and MA. Connecticut had a ton of goodies as well despite no tropicbird reports.

Here are my highlights, seen along the coast between Stratford and West Haven with various other birders at times:

2 Wilson's Storm-Petrel
1 LEACH'S STORM-PETREL
1 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (first state record if accepted)
3 Red-necked Phalaropes
1 phalarope sp. (almost certainly Red-necked)
10 SOOTY TERNS (all adults)
1 LONG-TAILED JAEGER (light-intermediate juv)
1 jaeger sp. (likely Parasitic)

What a &$%#ing day. Probably the best all-around pelagic birding day in CT's history.

It may not be over yet. There are still displaced birds to be found, albeit not in the concentrations they were found today. Good luck!

- NB

Comments

  1. Tom AuerAugust 28, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Nice Haul. Connecticut, New Jersey and New York definitely had some amazing birds!

    We managed Bridled, Gull-billed, Sandwich, and Royal Terns in RI, along with Leach's Storm-Petrel and Red-necked Phalarope.

    Looking forward to a full day tomorrow and fingers crossed for a Tropicbird.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick BonomoAugust 30, 2011 at 8:54 AM

    Hey Tom, yes, all the local states did so well. Put everyone's lists together and most of the reasonably possible species were seen in our area. Amazing.

    ReplyDelete

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