Returned to Watch Hill this weekend. My count increased from 35 species last month to 42 as the return migration of shorebirds has begun. Many small groups of Least Sandpipers flocked the bayside. In addition to last month’s local Willets and Lesser Yellow-legs, a Spotted Sandpiper and a pair of Short-billed Dowitchers. The marsh grasses hid no more Seaside or Nelson sparrows - instead a half dozen Sharp-tailed Saltmarsh Sparrows and an oddly situated Wood Peewee. The beaches had a constant daily flow of Common Terns, their white angelic silhouettes closely overhead us swimming, fishing the breaking waves, and then carrying their catch off, I assume to their nesting colony. I spotted only two Least Terns on the bayside cavorting over a marsh pool. Unexpected was spotting two rafts of Black Scoters offshore between Watch Hill and Davis Park on Friday morning.
Happy Birding, Alan Drogin -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
