Shorebirder

Yesterday was one of those perfect evenings at Sandy Pt and Milford Pt. A light breeze, the sun at your back, and a rising tide to concentrate several hundred migrant shorebirds. It felt like a Wilson's Plover or Curlew Sandpiper would come into view at any moment, but no such luck. Sandy Point at mid-tide had a few hundred birds, which is a decent number for this site. It doesn't hold the numbers that Milford Point sees, but its track record of rarities speaks for itself. Nothing rare tonight, but three stunning Red Knot were great to see. One of the birds was flagged, but it never allowed me to read the numbers on the tag. Red Knot at Sandy Point Milford Point held several hundred migrants (for example, 1150 Semipalmated Sandpipers) including 4 more Red Knot and 5 White-rumped Sandpipers. It was difficult to fully concentrate on the migrants when three newly hatched Piping Plovers were running around. One of three Piping Plover chicks at Milford Pt Least Tern chicks should be...

While in class this morning I received Mike DiGiorgio's report of a Eurasian Collared-Dove, just the state's second record, from Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. I was stuck in the classroom and hospital til 4pm when I left straight for Hammo. While walking towards Willard's Island with Dori Sosensky at 5:15pm I was stunned to spot this female LARK BUNTING. We watched the bird for about a minute and I digibinned a few photos to document this rarity (the third state record). I consider myself lucky to get anything useful with such a brief sighting. It quickly flew around the corner and was never refound. After a quick reference check to confirm a field mark I was hazy on (my only prior Lark Bunting was a male in Texas), we got the word out. Unfortunately it didn't re-appear. Probably still in the area, and with tonight's less-than-stellar migration conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if it's refound tomorrow. Upon seeing the bird, Dori realized that s...

Many New England birders have come to know E.J. Raynor, especially those in CT and ME. Well, E.J. has moved onto warmer climes (at least for now). He is currently working toward his Master's Degree at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Here are a couple pictures he forwarded my way: At the tern colony. This would NEVER happen in Connecticut. Tough life, eh? NB

Kim and I spent a couple of hours at Milford Pt this morning around the high tide. While we were there, the volunteer Piping Plover monitors found a new piper nest that was outside of the roped-off area. Kim and I helped them put up new stakes and rope to protect this Piper and her eggs: On eggs. Two laid, probably more to come. Shorebird numbers were not too impressive today, but there were still birds to look through. Several Least and a few Common terns were about. Best bird was probably a Merlin hanging out near the coastal center. A nice southwest breeze is in place for this afternoon, which will extend overnight and into tomorrow. Tomorrow (Sun) and Monday will be good days to check for southern overshoots. Some species that come to mind for this time of year are Kentucky Warbler, Black-necked Stilt, Wilson's Plover, and Mississippi Kite. If we get any rain tonight, that could help concentrate birds wherever that rain is falling. NB

Winds tonight are quite variable across the northeast, but there appears to be a southerly component in many areas. The result is migration...not a surprise since birds have been backed up for about 6 days now. Here's a radar image from about 11pm: As you can see there is a nice movement underway in southern New England and the mid-Atlantic. There must be an easterly component to the winds, at least along the coast, because the birds appear to be heading slightly west (notice the high density in western CT and NJ as compared to the eastern half of those states). Tomorrow morning should be a good one to be birding. My guess is that the further west you go, the better. Tomorrow night has very good potential for more migration. There may be rain to knock down birds, which is exactly what happened last Wednesday night, resulting in a mini-fallout across CT on Thurs morning. Nick

Four Black Skimmers at Milford Point this evening. I stopped at Milford Pt on my way home from Shea tonight and there were four Black Skimmers flying around the bars there. Shorebird numbers and variety were about the same as yesterday, with that White-rumped Sandpiper still present. I made it to the Maltby Lakes this morning to find the place dead. Spent 30 mins walking the spruces and pines. Even the deciduous woods were basically migrant-free. Highlight was a vigorously singing Golden-crowned Kinglet in the spruces. Interestingly I had a singing GC Kinglet at this location back a few summers ago. Could they actually be breeding here? Seems unlikely but I hope to check back later in the season. In the deciduous woods there was a singing Eastern Wood-Pewee, my FOY. I try this place about once per year in May, and it's always dead. Of course I came home to 8 species of warbler including a male Blackburnian in the driveway. East winds are blowing, and they're only going to get s...

Had my first White-rumped Sand at Milford Point this evening. It was great to see several hundred shorebirds roosting there...couldn't have come soon enough. This crummy shot is all I could manage with today's White-rumped Sandpiper. Birding in the region has been very good over the past few days, ever since Wednesday night's migrants were downed by the weather. The birds haven't left yet, although some are on their way out as we speak. The radar is showing a light migration out of the area, and probably very little replacing it. I'm hoping that very little leaves tonight because I plan on walking the Maltby Lakes tomorrow morning. These are a few small lakes surrounded by pines and spruces. I've wanted to walk there in search of Cape Mays for a few years now, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Now that these migrants have been in the area for a few days, a local Cape May may have found those spruces. Or so I hope. The upcoming weather pattern is an intere...