I met Larry Newman at Montezuma NWR this afternoon for some birding. We
started at the visitor center where we found lots of YELLOWLEGS, mostly
Lesser. There were also maybe a dozen or so DOWITCHERS, at least a couple
of each species, fairly close to the visitor's center. Before I arrived,
others saw a BALD EAGLE and a MERLIN here.
Next we took the drive. The first wetland on the right (Larue's Lagoon, I
think) we found one SOLITARY SANDPIPER, lots of gulls, and several CASPIAN
TERNS. There were also a few non-Mallard ducks in non-breeding plumage that
we couldn't identify mixed in with Mallards. Aside for a group of COOTS and
an OSPREY overhead, the main pool was mostly empty. After the pool, a long
stretch of shorebird habitat has been created on the left of the drive. At
first glance, the area appeared to be empty, but on closer inspection, we
found lots of peeps. They just kept appearing out of nowhere. The viewing
was outstanding, and we checked them closely but only found LEAST and
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, KILLDEER, and two SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS.
At Benning Marsh, we found a few Yellowlegs and three GREEN-WINGED TEAL.We
also found two dense clumps of peeps, maybe a dozen each. They were
squeezed onto two mud islands even though there were plenty of other mud
clumps around. Not sure why they all wanted to be so tight together. It was
hard to see much of them since they were packed in so tight, but they all
appeared to be Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.
We went to Knox Marsellus on East Road, where we could see many, many GREAT
BLUE HERONS and several GREAT EGRETS. We could see lots of shorebirds in
the distance and some more ducks we couldn't identify. We also saw two BALD
EAGLES overhead and one MERLIN perched at the left edge.
Then we went to Towpath Road. The viewing was better here, but most of the
shorebirds were still pretty far out. We managed to find two WILSON'S
PHALAROPES and a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. We also found a few WOOD DUCKS,
NORTHERN SHOVELERS, a GREEN HERON, 3 TRUMPETER SWANS, a NORTHERN HARRIER,
and two juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS. There were some shorebirds
that had the potential to be something different from what we'd already
seen, but they were far in the heat shimmer, and we were out of time.
Anne Marie Johnson
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