Sunday, September 7, 2008

Part -2 Shorebirds After The Storm

Some of the birders around Connecticut were hoping that the remnants of this weekend' tropical storm might bring some new birds in. I checked The Rocky Hill Meadows after a night of some moderate wind and rain. The most interesting sightings for me were three American Golden-plovers. None of them came particularly close to me so I couldn't get much of a photo.
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I've only seen these birds a couple of other times. While I was there another birder suggested that one of the plovers was actually a Black-bellied Plover because it showed white under the tail. Not having any experience in comparing the two species it seemed to make sense to me. Although, I was pretty sure that a Black-bellied Plover would be a more unusual sighting at an inland location. After discussing this with some more experienced birders, I learned that the bird in question was an American Golden-Plover that was in the process of molting. The molting gave the appearance of white under the tail. The better field mark for identification was the clearly defined white eyebrow as well as the shape of the bird. I would like to see the two side by side for comparison some time.

It was not quite the fallout we were hoping for but I was happy about the golden plovers. Other birds of interest seen here included: White-rumped Sandpiper (not by me), several Pectoral Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 adult Bald Eagles, 2 Red-shouldered Hawks, 2 Cooper's Hawks, Great Egret ....

And yet another Solitary Sandpiper. These guys don't seem to want to leave me alone. I think they might be following me. I caught a pretty good video of this one talking to me.

10 comments:

John B. said...

American Golden Plover is a bird that I still haven't seen. Nice find!

Raptors are indeed on the move. We have been getting lots of Cooper's hawks here in Cape May.

Lana Gramlich said...

I love raptors & must admit that I look forward to the return of the bald eagles. I also miss shore birds, still. I miss beaches, in general. Perhaps one day I can make the drive to one in Mississippi...

Jayne said...

Love your carpie Larry! Congrats on the Kite sighting!

Mary said...

I remember you helping me ID a Solitary Sandpiper over a year ago.

Larry, you have become so advanced in your birding skills!

I'm sorry I haven't visited in quite a while. I've been living under a rock for a few weeks.

Mary

Tera Rose said...

YEA! the hawks are coming- and this year we are ready!!!

is their going to be a migration like in spring- as song birds head south?

Larry said...

John-Yes it is nice to be able to see the Golden Plovers nearby where I live.-Ill be looking forward to hawk watching this weekend.-I've never seen a large kettle of hawks before.

lana-Bald Eagles always command a lot of attention around here.-I guess there are some places where Bald Eagles are a common sight.

Jayne-thanks-I was excited to get a chance to see this kite right here in ct.

Mary-The more advanced I become,the more I seem to screw up on id's.-Mary-don't worry Mary-I've put very little time into blogging myself lately.

tera-Around here-warblers and other migrating songbirds are starting to pass through.-The next couple of weeks should be pretty good for raptors and tropical migrants-

Ruth said...

I visited a wetland area last weekend and saw hundreds of migrating shore birds. But IDing them is soooo difficult. I think I will have to come up with my own creative names like you did with your "carpie"!

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

A great series! I've been catching up a little here today and have enjoyed seeing what you have been up to. Thanks for visiting my blog during my downtime. I'm still not at 100%, but getting there.

Larry said...

ruth-I find that it's best just to admit that you're unable to id something rather than try to fake it.-that's interesting-I wouln't picture wetlands in Canada as a mjor shorebird spot.-Must have been interesting for you.

lin-I visit you're blog because I like it and as an added bonus -it's in CT.-Glad you're doing better though.

Larry said...

ruth-I find that it's best just to admit that you're unable to id something rather than try to fake it.-that's interesting-I wouln't picture wetlands in Canada as a mjor shorebird spot.-Must have been interesting for you.

lin-I visit you're blog because I like it and as an added bonus -it's in CT.-Glad you're doing better though.