A late afternoon crossing of Ledyard Bridge caused a change of plans
that led to a memorable evening of birding. Noticing ~5:30 pm that the
river was down 18" or so, I headed upriver to check Pompy Flats, which
were exposed but largely birdless, save for a dozen Mallards, a Great
Blue Heron, and 3 Killdeer. On a whim, I zipped over to Campbell Flats,
arriving at 6:20. The next 75 minutes brought some of the most fun and
rewarding birding I've had in a long while. The place was absolutely
buzzing with songbirds at all levels of the air space, from ground level
to >200 feet above. The setting sun and warm temps had insectivorous
birds putting on a show, with waxwings dominating as they alternated
between hawking insects and gorging on the local smorgasbord of fruits.
Above them were a dozen Barn Swallows and at least 1 Chimney Swift, plus
a trio of E. Kingbirds pretending to be swallows. At 6:35 pm a Common
Nighthawk swooped silently by heading southeast; another appeared 15
minutes later - I could easily have missed others, as I was transfixed
by the songbird show.
Flycatchers seemed to be everywhere, though I likely kept seeing many of
same birds. I walked several times up and down a 0.1-mile stretch of the
road, between the corn field and small parking area with horse trailer.
Activity was most intense in the fruiting trees and shrubs on either
side of the drainage ditch at the beginning of the flats. There were
definitely some migrants in the mix, and I got the sense that many birds
were loading up, perhaps for a night flight. Lighting was spectacular,
the air still and summery, the birds in performance mode. An evening to
remember!
Highlights among the 42 species:
Common Nighthawk 2 first at 6:35 pm, second 15 minutes later, both moving southeast
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Willow Flycatcher 2 calling; one immature begging to adult
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher) 4
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Red-eyed Vireo 2 1 singing
Barn Swallow 10
House Wren 1
Veery 1
American Robin 9 8 flying southeast at ~7 pm
Gray Catbird 10
Cedar Waxwing 30 conservative estimate; extremely active hawking insects and eating fruits
Black-and-white Warbler 1 briefly sang
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
American Redstart 3
Bay-breasted Warbler 2 possibly 3, seen extremely well at close range in excellent light; gray legs and feet noted
Yellow Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 4 3 juvenal-plumaged birds with adult along road side
White-throated Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 8
Scarlet Tanager 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 4
Indigo Bunting 7
Bobolink 60 minimum number; 3 flocks left corn field and flew to southeast, calling
Red-winged Blackbird 75 minimum number
Baltimore Oriole 2
View this checklist online athttp://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24663224
--
Chris Rimmer
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
P.O. Box 420
Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 ext. 1
www.vtecostudies.org
****************************************************************
To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask]
Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages.
To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Web based archives and subscription management are available at:
http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html
****************************************************************
|