Tag Archives: Shorebirds

Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Other Shorebirds, August 5, 2023

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (click to see the larger version)

An adult Buff-breasted Sandpiper graced Montrose Beach on the morning of August 5. This meager photo doesn’t do the experience justice as the bird walked close to the people fortunate enough to be there. Adult is the rarer of the two Buffy age classes we see; most are juveniles that show up later in August and early September. We also had adult Baird’s and Western Sandpipers, the later a rare bird and even rarer age class at Montrose. August is the best month for shorebirds for us, with the peak occuring later in the month. Try to visit the beach as often as possible, including later in the afternoon and evening.

The Late Show – June 13, 2023

Here we are, almost two full weeks into June, and we’re still getting a trickle of migrants. Avian activity is dominated by the local breeding birds, but these bona fide migrants were at Montrose on June 13

Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Blackburnian Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler

What’s interesting is that the first southbound summer migrants will be showing up in just a few weeks. There almost isn’t a time when birds aren’t moving in one direction or the other, and Montrose Point is one of the best places to witness this near overlap in migrations.

June 1, 2023

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)

Migration doesn’t come to a screeching halt when May ends. We always get some spillover into early June, and this June 1 proved the point. Over 70 species were reported to eBird by all observers, and I ended up with 60 species in about 2.5 hours of effort. My migrant highlights include

Semipalmated Plover
Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Swainson’s Thrush
Bobolink
Northern Waterthrush
Connecticut Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Dickcissel

All of the above birds are bona fide migrants that don’t breed at Montrose. I also had Great Crested and Willow Flycatchers and Eastern Wood-Pewees. These birds have bred at Montrose or nearby but could just as well be migrants. The point is you should keep checking Montrose into early June. The pace has slowed down from mid May but we’re still seeing a variety of shorebirds, warblers, flycatchers, and other birds. Why not squeeze every last drop out of migration while it lasts?

Winding Down, May 30, 2023

Dunlin

Dunlin (click to see the larger version)

We usually get a nice spillover of migrants into early June, but this year activity has dropped sharply since the peak day on May 19. Migrants are in a hurry to get to their breeding grounds, so they probably took advantage of the favorable weather we’ve been experiencing and continued moving north without stopping. We should get one last push of flycatchers, cuckoos, Red-eyed Vireos, and later warblers sometime in the next week. Spring shorebird migration also continues into June, and a rare gull or tern could show up, so don’t forget to check the beach.

Whimbrel, May 23, 2023

Whimbrel

Whimbrel (click to see the larger version)

The Piping Plover monitors found a Whimbrel on the protected portion of Montrose Beach in the afternoon of May 23. Whimbrels are rare in spring and have a narrow window of occurrence from about May 15 to May 25. This bird delighted the many birders who came to see it. It’s also a reminder that afternoon and evening birding can be just as productive as morning birding, especially for shorebirds, gulls, and terns.

May 19, 2023 – The Best Day

American Wigeon

American Wigeon (click to see the larger version)

May 19 will go down as the best day for migration in 2023. Montrose was full of warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers. It was also full of birders. Over 140 species were reported to eBird by all observers, and several people topped 100, which only happens a couple times each year. My highlights include

American Wigeon (late)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruddy Turnstone (4)
Common Tern
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Golden-winged Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Mourning Warbler (6!)
Hooded Warbler
Summer Tanager
Dickcissel

Migration will start to wind down, but late May is still an excellent time for later warblers and vireos, and flycatchers will continue to increase through the end of the month.