Quick hit Hudwit and Stilt Sand
I spent the majority of the 5th and 6th in the field with still a pretty heavy focus on shorebirds. We're getting to the point in the season when birders understandably shift their interest from shorebirds and terns to passerines and hawks. There will still be quality shorebirding for a bit longer, though numbers will really drop off (and have already begun to).
An early morning visit to Hammonasset Beach SP on the 5th found hardly any shorebirds on the lawns, but a decent landbird movement overhead. BOBOLINKS dominated, passing in singles and small flocks. The highlight came in the form of my first DICKCISSEL of the year, giving its flight call as it flew westward down the coast.
Some dedicated landbirding in Guilford found a few feeding flocks of common species. AMERICAN REDSTARTS are still dominating the warbler mix, which is typical for the date.
For the midday period I walked out Sandy Point in West Haven. Shorebird numbers never really got very high there this year, and they have trailed off to rather modest numbers at best. Still, there's been a bit of diversity. While I was watching a juvenile LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the water, I heard a nasal bark-like call that I couldn't immediately place. I looked up to see a HUDSONIAN GODWIT flying in from the north. It didn't seem very interested in landing, banked left, and continued out of sight to the east. A juvenile RED KNOT, oddly uncommon in Connecticut, was also present, settled in with the BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER flock.
Also of note, while my butterfly knowledge is severely lacking, I noticed a CLOUDLESS SULPHUR flying northeastward down the beach and out over the harbor. And then another. And another. I ended up noting five of them on my walk back, which seemed like a lot to me.
I began the next day at Milford Point. Hurricane Dorian was due to brush us every so slightly later that day, passing well to our southeast. While the chances of something getting blown into Long Island Sound were slim, the possibility of knock-downs was there. There were no surprises here, but I was happy to see the three continuing AMERICAN AVOCETS once again. Two each "Eastern" and "Western" WILLETS were cool side-by-side.
Heading east, Hammonasset was dead quiet. As the outermost rain bands from the hurricane inched closer, I checked Griswold Point in Old Lyme. This used to be a prime shorebird spot, but recent storms have battered and eroded the point to a shell of its former self. Sadly, not even any Piping Plovers or Least Terns bred successfully this year, which is a first as far as I can remember. Anyway, birds were predictably scarce, but a single Tringa-like shorebird flew in by itself, which I had initially assumed would be a Lesser Yellowlegs. Better views revealed it to be a juvenile STILT SANDPIPER, once of those shorebird species that is far more regular in neighboring coastal states than it is in Connecticut. It never really got settled and flew off in a just a couple minutes. Bird of the day, for sure.
The wind picked up a bit from the east, and showers began. I spent the next couple hours "sound-watching" from Cornfield Point in Old Saybrook. There were enough terns moving around to keep me occupied, some 600 total of four species (566 Common, 25 Forster's, 14 Roseate, 4 Black).
I stopped back into Hammonasset on my way home, as it was really raining at that point and I expected shorebirds to be downed on the lawns, but again, no dice.
- Nick
An early morning visit to Hammonasset Beach SP on the 5th found hardly any shorebirds on the lawns, but a decent landbird movement overhead. BOBOLINKS dominated, passing in singles and small flocks. The highlight came in the form of my first DICKCISSEL of the year, giving its flight call as it flew westward down the coast.
Some dedicated landbirding in Guilford found a few feeding flocks of common species. AMERICAN REDSTARTS are still dominating the warbler mix, which is typical for the date.
For the midday period I walked out Sandy Point in West Haven. Shorebird numbers never really got very high there this year, and they have trailed off to rather modest numbers at best. Still, there's been a bit of diversity. While I was watching a juvenile LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the water, I heard a nasal bark-like call that I couldn't immediately place. I looked up to see a HUDSONIAN GODWIT flying in from the north. It didn't seem very interested in landing, banked left, and continued out of sight to the east. A juvenile RED KNOT, oddly uncommon in Connecticut, was also present, settled in with the BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER flock.
 |
| Hudsonian Godwit (molting adult) |
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| Red Knot with Black-bellied Plovers |
Also of note, while my butterfly knowledge is severely lacking, I noticed a CLOUDLESS SULPHUR flying northeastward down the beach and out over the harbor. And then another. And another. I ended up noting five of them on my walk back, which seemed like a lot to me.
 |
| Cloudless Sulphur |
I began the next day at Milford Point. Hurricane Dorian was due to brush us every so slightly later that day, passing well to our southeast. While the chances of something getting blown into Long Island Sound were slim, the possibility of knock-downs was there. There were no surprises here, but I was happy to see the three continuing AMERICAN AVOCETS once again. Two each "Eastern" and "Western" WILLETS were cool side-by-side.
 |
| The outermost fringes of Hurricane Dorian slowly approach |
Heading east, Hammonasset was dead quiet. As the outermost rain bands from the hurricane inched closer, I checked Griswold Point in Old Lyme. This used to be a prime shorebird spot, but recent storms have battered and eroded the point to a shell of its former self. Sadly, not even any Piping Plovers or Least Terns bred successfully this year, which is a first as far as I can remember. Anyway, birds were predictably scarce, but a single Tringa-like shorebird flew in by itself, which I had initially assumed would be a Lesser Yellowlegs. Better views revealed it to be a juvenile STILT SANDPIPER, once of those shorebird species that is far more regular in neighboring coastal states than it is in Connecticut. It never really got settled and flew off in a just a couple minutes. Bird of the day, for sure.
 |
| Stilt Sandpiper |
The wind picked up a bit from the east, and showers began. I spent the next couple hours "sound-watching" from Cornfield Point in Old Saybrook. There were enough terns moving around to keep me occupied, some 600 total of four species (566 Common, 25 Forster's, 14 Roseate, 4 Black).
I stopped back into Hammonasset on my way home, as it was really raining at that point and I expected shorebirds to be downed on the lawns, but again, no dice.
- Nick
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