Quite a few groups of people out today birding the Erie shore in Niagara. Just passing along a few separate sightings from spots that to my knowledge others may not have hit. The Port Colborne, Cement Plant Rd. Western Kingbird was not seen in the early morning or late afternoon to my knowledge. There was an Eastern Kingbird fly-catching from the same wires in the afternoon. An adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKER behind the house on the east side of the road just south of Route 3 was a nice consolation though. At the pond at the south end of Cement Plant Rd. were several shorebirds including 6+ Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 juv. STILT SANDPIPER (in the afternoon), 2 Semi Sandpipers, 8+ Least Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers (in the morning), and 4+ Killdeer, plus 2 Great Egrets. Dave Gordon and I continued onto Mud Lake Conservation Area just north of Port Colborne, which had relatively low water levels in the lake although no exposed shoreline. There were 20+ Lesser Yellowlegs and at least 2 Greater Yellowlegs, along with 2 Great Egrets and a couple dozen puddle ducks, including 1 Wigeon, Pintails, and Blue-winged Teals. The water and vegetation levels in the lake look ideal for a juv. Hudsonian Godwit come October. There was also a nice mix of songbirds around the lake, including 1 each of N. WATERTHRUSH, Yellow, TENNESSEE, and CANADA WARBLERS, plus E. Wood-Pewee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Jaeger Rocks near the mouth of the Niagara River in Fort Erie had a nice group of shorebirds including 7 ad. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 10+ Killdeer, 4+ Semi Plovers, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 4 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 4+ Semi Sandpipers, 2 Least Sandpipers, and a "real" juv. molting into first-basic DUNLIN (all feathers except for the buffy-edged primaries and tertials appeared to be basic plumage). Also around were a few Bonaparte's Gulls and Common Terns, along with several ad. and juv. Caspian Terns. Jim Pawlicki Amherst, NY
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