Monthly Archives: September 2020

American Golden-Plovers (and others), September 3, 2020

American Golden-Plover

American Golden-Plover (click to see the larger version)

We had a nice variety of shorebirds at Montrose Beach on September 3, highlighted by a pair of adult American Golden-Plovers, an adult Baird’s Sandpiper, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, and an American Avocet. The fluddle briefly reformed on the public beach after overnight rains, providing valuable habitat. These birds were probably moving ahead of a cold front expected to pass later in the day. Checking the beach throughout the day could pay off. More photos are at my eBird checklist for the morning, URL below.

eBird Checklist
September 3, 2020

Scientia Potentia Est

If you want to know what’s going on bird-wise at Montrose, there’s no better resource than eBird. Migration is picking up and more people are reporting their sightings using this invaluable tool. Click the image below to be taken to the Montrose Point eBird hotspot.

Montrose Point eBird Hotspot

American Avocets, September 1, 2020

American Avocets

American Avocets (click to see the larger version)

Continuing the uncommon shorebird theme from this summer, 2 American Avocets were on the public beach on September 1 (the public beach is the portion of the beach west of and outside the Dunes, which are fenced off and protected). These are the first American Avocets recorded at Montrose since late June. By September of 2019, we had 3 sightings, 2 in July and 1 in August.

On a related note, the fluddle has disappeared. The fluddle is the pool of water on the beach that shorebirds use for feeding and resting. Without the fluddle we won’t see as great a variety of shorebirds this fall. The good news is that the fluddle reforms after heavy rain or when strong northeast winds push water onto the beach.

For more information about shorebirds at Montrose, see the Shorebirds section of the What to See page.