White-winged Scoters
Olive-sided Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)
A sample of birds from Montrose on June 3. This is why you should keep birding in June
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Snowy Plover
Piping Plover
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Franklin’s Gull
Great Egret
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Orchard Oriole
Dickcissel
Lots of photos are on my eBird checklist for the day, URL below.
eBird Checklist
June 3, 2022
Olive-sided Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)
I spent about three hours birding Montrose on September 7 and it was time well spent. I tallied 51 species for my effort and saw a number of personal first of season birds. According to eBird, almost 80 species were recorded by all observers. Swainson’s Thrushes have arrived and they seemed to be everywhere. The dogwood north of the Magic Hedge and the cherry trees in the meadow were flush with them. My highlights include
Baird’s Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Black-billed Cuckoo
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Additionally, swarms of Chimney Swifts were moving south over the Point. I estimated 600 but that total is likely conservative. Link to my eBIrd checklist for the day below.
eBird Checklist
September 7, 2021
Dogwood at The Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary (click to see the larger version)
The dogwood just north of the north end of the Magic Hedge has been a hotspot for a variety of passerines this early fall. Birds I’ve seen feasting on its fruit include Gray Catbird, Swainson’s Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, and Eastern Kingbird. As of early September, the shrub has abundant berries, so it should be productive for a few weeks. Look for the clusters of pea-sized white berries to find it (as far as I know, this is the only dogwood in the sanctuary). The best approach for birding it is to stand quietly 15 to 20 feet in front of it. Patience and determination are needed to pick birds out in the thick foliage.
Adult male Baltimore Oriole (click to see the larger version)
We’re about a month from peak landbird migration but we’ve been getting a steady trickle of Empidonax flycatchers, cuckoos, Baltimore Orioles, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and a few warblers, all expected late summer/early fall migrants. On the flip side, the Tree, Bank, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows that were such a visual and noisy presence in the Dunes have moved on. We’re still seeing Barn Swallows and Purple Martins, but the martins are getting restless and will be gone in a few weeks. Link to my eBird checklist for August 16 below.
eBird Checklist
August 16, 2021
Olive-sided Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)
Migration is still going on, although at a reduced rate. Just two weeks ago Montrose was overrun with warblers and other migrant passerines. Today I had only two obvious warbler migrants. This shows how fast spring migration winds down. Birds are in a hurry to get to their breeding grounds and they don’t linger long. Bonafide migrants I had at Montrose on June 4
Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Mourning Warbler
American Redstart
It’s hard to believe that in just a few weeks the first southbound migrants will start appearing at Montrose. Link to my eBird checklist for the morning below.
eBird Checklist
June 4, 2021
American Avocets working the western panne in the Dunes (click to see the larger version)
Just because May has ended doesn’t mean migration comes to a screeching halt. The following are just some of the bonafide migrants I saw at Montrose on June 1
American Avocet
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Philadelphia Vireo
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler
Dickcissel
I ended up with 60 species in about 3 hours of birding. The first week in June isn’t as frenetic as mid-May but is still worth birding, and Montrose tends to hold migrants later in spring migration than most other places. Link to my eBird checklist below.
eBird Checklist
June 1, 2021