Here in southern New England you don't need a calendar to tell you when October has arrived. No, I'm not talking about the disappearance of summer-like weather or the rapidly shortening days. If you're a birder you can tell the calendar page has turned just by the arrival (and departure) of certain species. This has been apparent as I've spent a good amount of time in the field over the first week of the month.
Along the coast, Forster's Terns now outnumber Common Terns.
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| Forster's Terns |
The first "Northern" Horned Larks of the subspecies
alpestris can be found in coastal dunes and open spaces.
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| Horned Lark |
Sparrow numbers and diversity skyrocket.
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
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| Savannah Sparrows are everywhere |
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| Nelson's Sparrow is a common October migrant in coastal saltmarsh, though this may actually be a hybrid... |
Raptor diversity peaks. At one location earlier this week I had 13 species of raptor/vulture in just a couple hours' watching the sky.
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Cooper's Hawk |
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk |
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
Hawkwatching often yields a few non-raptor bonuses, such as this adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKER that passed between me and the sun a few days ago.
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| Red-headed Woodpecker |
Yellow-rumped Warblers dominate, while good numbers of Palm Warblers spill over from September.
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| "Yellow" Palm Warbler |
Gull numbers continue to increase while diversity remains on the low side. Still, southbound Lesser Black-backed Gulls are often seen this month, particularly during periods of inclement weather and east winds, some of which we experienced last weekend.
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| juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull |
Red-breasted Nuthatches have been moving since late summer, and they continue to be common statewide. Perhaps we will see more boreal irruptives as the month progresses.
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| Red-breasted Nuthatch |
-NB
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