Yes, it rained after awhile, but not as drenching as a couple recent times I've been on the K-M dike. And the shorebirds were very flighty, perhaps due to a couple of Peregrine Falcons, making it difficult to scan through any group, let alone share IDs. And the breeze made scopes vibrate. And several flocks of shorebirds appeared to depart. And it was work to pick out the few individuals which were not Pectoral Sandpipers. But I must disagree with the early assessment of low diversity according to a few birders who departed precipitately when precipitation began.
The following shorebirds were seen (by me; please say if you found others) on todays K-M dike field trip: American Golden-Plover - 1 juvenile on mud of Puddler with Killdeer as I left; reportedly fled Peregrine earlier Killdeer - 1 on mud of Puddler as I left; 1 heard overhead with departing Yellowlegs flock as I arrived Semipalmated Plover - 1 feeding & flying with large flock of Pectorals, etc Greater Yellowlegs - several, mostly in deep NE water of K-M, also conveniently next to Lesser in Puddler Lesser Yellowlegs - flock(s) of a dozen or so Pectoral Sandpiper - scores; the overwhelming number Stilt Sandpiper - 2 seen together, but fairly close Sanderling - 1 on distant mud, but seen well by many White-rumped Sandpiper - 3, including one limping with somewhat injured left leg, among Pectorals Baird's Sandpiper - 1, among Pectorals, found fairly early & shown to a few others, but then lost Semipalmated Sandpiper - distant second in abundance Least Sandpiper - 1 seen by me; someone else mentioned seeing 4 Short-billed Dowitcher - 4 Long-billed Dowitcher - 2 Most participants will recall only a single dowitcher, if any. The above dowitcher numbers & IDs were a treat for Diane Morton, Kenneth Kemphues, & myself who stayed long after everyone else. We found a dowitcher trio, and after considerable distant viewing through rain, we and they moved progressively closer, and the light got better, until we were confident of distinguishing 2 juvenile Long-billeds and 1 juvenile Short-billed by each of several criteria: size, shape, general color, superciliary, and tertial pattern (but not bill length, which was equal, although the Long-billeds' bills were thicker). Then we saw 2 more dowitchers in distant water to test our new skills: our initial assessment of them as Short-billed was verified when they joined the previous trio allowing direct comparison of each the above field marks. I found the 4th Short-billed in the distance between mudflats, but it was less cooperative, requiring faith in my recent practice. Ken & Diane may have some worthy photos from our exercise. Other birds of particular interest (at least to me): Wood Duck - several in channel by road, at least 1 male in breeding plumage Blue-winged Teal - 1 flushed as we arrived, and again as I left, this time with... Green-winged Teal - 2 Double-crested Cormorants - many, generally moved to Puddler Great Egret - 2 as I arrived. I saw none while our group was there. Perhaps distant & backlit in Puddler? Northern Harrier - 2 immatures Bald Eagle - 1 immature settled on the mud as we arrived, later 2 were together in the air over K-M Sandhill Crane - 5, a family of 3 and the local pair Peregrine Falcon - 1 immature, 1 adult or at least blue above Warbling Vireo - 1 along Towpath Road Cliff Swallow - 1 among numerous Tree Swallows & some Barn & Bank (& Northern Rough-winged mentioned) House Wren - 1 at start of Towpath Road Tennessee Warbler - 1, ID by sharp-eyed & knowledgeable young Isaiah from NYC; I barely saw the bird Nashville Warbler - 1 also reported by Isaiah Magnolia Warbler - 1 also reported by Isaiah White-throated Sparrow - 4 on Towpath Road as I left Savannah Sparrow - 1 along dike, 1 along Towpath Road Swamp Sparrow - 1 along dike, 3 along Towpath Road The birds I saw along Towpath Road were mainly fruit-eaters, plus a couple flycatchers, and sparrows. Among warblers, all I got decent looks at were several Common Yellowthroats, one of which gave a strange song along the dike. Again, additions from others are welcome. Thanks to Andrea Van Beusichem, Linda Ziemba, & everyone else at Montezuma NWR who helped make this possible; to Paul Anderson for leading with assistance by Susan Danskin, Dave Nicosia, Gary Kohlenberg (and others?); and to participants from NYSOA, as well as repeat participants who may live closer, for sharing interest and helping each other pick out and ID the birds. The next (and so far as I know, final) such field trip this year is this coming SATURDAY, 27 September, meeting at the Montezuma NWR Visitor Center at 11am, and led by Mike Tetlow (and others?) from the Rochester Birding Association. --Dave Nutter P.S. Apologies for my uncalled-for remark to Dave Nicosia, who as a meteorologist is not responsible for the actual weather, which was, as usual, accurately forecast. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
