A large number of shorebirds continue in main pool which has been drained. The diversity could be down some as I didn't find any red knots, ruddy turnstone or whimbrels of days past. But there was one female RED-NECKED PHALAROPE I think initially spotted by Dave Kennedy and then re-found by Scott Peterson. I was working my way up wildlife drive when Scott sent the RBA on this great bird. Thanks Scott!. There were also loads of semipalmated sandpipers and breeding plumage dunlin. A few white-rumped sandpipers were mixed in too. There certainly could have been more as the heat shimmer was bad. The ones I got were closer w/ little shimmer. There were 5 lingering BLACK BELLIED PLOVERS. Additionally, there were many semipalmated plovers and about 5 least sandpipers as well as some killdeer and a few spotted sandpipers. Bald eagles were all over along with Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. They were feeding on the dead or dying fish from the draining of the pool. If you go this weekend, I suggest getting there very early to avoid the heat shimmer. I could have easily missed species especially since there were more distant flocks. All I could make out in these flocks were dunlin and semipalmated sandpipers.
Other birds of note: Orchard oriole singing near the first channel (where the solitary sandpipers usually are) just before Larues. Cerulean Warblers were singing by the bathroom at the beginning and also in the woods past the first bend. There were also lingering Blackpoll warblers both spots as well. My list is here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56931387 An awesome day! Good birding to all, Dave Nicosia -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
