White-winged Scoters
American Avocets (click to see the larger version)
Twenty four American Avocets were at the east end of Montrose Beach early this morning, November 4. The birds were still there when I left at 7 but apparently a Peregrine Falcon came along and scared all but one of them away, and from what I heard that one avocet is lucky to be alive. This is one of the largest groups of American Avocets I’ve seen at Montrose and by far the largest group this late in the year.
There were decent numbers of birds at Montrose this morning, especially Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers and both kinglets. I also had Magnolia, Tennessee, Black-and-white, and Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, and Bobolink among others. I saw a Nelson’s Sparrow in the meadow east of the Magic Hedge, my first Nelson’s of the fall. The American Golden-Plover was still at the beach along with 5 Black-bellied Plovers.
Montrose was very birdy this morning, September 26. I hadn’t been there in over a week but I was impressed with the number of warblers around. Dominant among these were Tennessee, Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped, and Palm. I also had a couple of Northern Parulas and a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, all in the Magic Hedge. Other birds of interest this a.m. include my first Hermit Thrush of the season, a flyover American Pipit at the beach, a calling Sedge Wren in the dunes, and 5 flyover American Golden-Plovers at the beach. I didn’t have any Nelson’s Sparrows in the dunes but this is prime time for them.
I spent a couple hours at Montrose this morning, September 13. Given the cold air and northwest winds I was expecting a great day but the birding was fair at best. I ended up with 14 species of warbler, the most common of which were Tennessee, Blackpoll, Palm, Magnolia, and American Redstart. Thrushes, flycatchers, and sparrows were scarce. Here’s my partial list:
Black-bellied Plover – 2
Semipalmated Plover – 1
Baird’s Sandpiper – 1
Sanderling – ~50
Black Tern – 1, the juvenile from yesterday. Seen early in the morning only.
Least Flycatcher – 1
Red-eyed Vireo – 2
Philadelphia Vireo – 1
Warbling Vireo – 1, singing
Tree Swallow – 2
Barn Swallow – ~6
Purple Martin – 2
Cliff Swallow – ~20
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1, FOS
Swainson’s Thrush – 3
Tennessee Warbler – ~10
Nashville Warbler – ~5
Cape May Warbler – 1
Magnolia Warbler – ~12
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1
Black-and-white Warbler – 2
Black-throated Green Warbler – 2
Blackpoll Warbler – ~8
Palm Warbler – ~12
Connecticut Warbler – 1
Wilson’s Warbler – ~5
Northern Waterthrush – 2
Common Yellowthroat – ~4
American Redstart – ~12
Savannah Sparrow – ~6
White-throated Sparrow – 2
Bobolink – 1
All of the swallows were seen together. They were feeding over and around the pine trees near the lake.
Willet (click to see the larger version)
A juvenile Willet was at Montrose Beach on September 4. I first saw it on the beach just outside of the protected area but a jogger came along and the bird flushed and landed on the end of the fishhook pier. It’s getting late for Willets.
I spent a little over an hour at Montrose Beach this morning, hoping for large shorebirds, especially the kind with long recurved or decurved bills. The only shorebirds I saw were a flyby Ruddy Turnstone, a couple Semipalmated Plovers, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a few Sanderlings. The morning wasn’t a complete bust however. Around dawn a Merlin flew in off the lake with something in its talons. This is my first Merlin of the season at Montrose. I also had about 15 adult Common Terns fly south over the beach. They were coming by in small groups and never landed. A juvenile Forster’s Tern made an appearance too.