At Cupsogue County Park (Westhampton, Suffolk Co) today the flats and
surrounding marshes held ample numbers of shorebirds and terns, but it was
those that passed overhead which provided the most excitement.
Just 15 minutes after I started out onto the flats (~11:30am) an AMERICAN
AVOCET flew over, heading west toward Moriches Inlet. I was first alerted to
its presence by a shadow/reflection on the water I was wading through. When
I looked up and spotted the bird silhouetted against the gray sky it looked
all dark, and I momentarily thought it was an ibis, but as it pulled farther
away its unmistakable black and white markings became obvious. I hoped it
would be drawn to land by all the other shorebirds present, but it just
continued on, a pattern that would be repeated by all the most notable birds
of the day.
I slowly made my way farther out toward the bay, studying the shorebirds
foraging around me. As I looked through my binoculars three larger birds
flew through my field of view. I lowered the bins and saw that the trio were
WHIMBRELS. They didn't make a beeline toward the inlet like the Avocet,
weaving left and right as they progressed and briefly looked as if they
planned to land out on the mussel beds, but they quickly resumed their
westward course. During my remaining time on the flats (until ~2:30pm) I saw
at least one and perhaps two other Whimbrel that had been enticed to land,
foraging along the steep marsh banks on the eastern periphery of the flats
and around one of the grassy islets to the west.
Most of the rest of my visit was spent out near the northern edge of the
flats carefully looking over the shorebirds and terns there. Among the
former (mostly S-b Dowitchers, Willet [a few Western], Greater Yellowlegs
and expected peep) were 23 Red Knots and a few Piping Plovers. The assembled
terns were mostly Common and Least, but 3 Black Terns were also present. The
Ospreys that nested on debris out on the marsh were there, 2 juveniles still
having fish brought by both parents. I eventually moved on and walked all
the way around the dredge spoil island. After completing that circuit I
decided to leave. That's when the final big flyover bird appeared. Its
approach was heralded by a raspy tern-like call whose unfamiliarity grabbed
my attention. I quickly spotted the source of the call flying toward me from
the inlet - a basic-plumaged adult SANDWICH TERN. It flew past me less than
100 ft. away heading east. Despite my pleading for it to land, it of course
kept on going. I watched its retreat as long as possible...it was a state
life bird after all. I had a hunch it might be headed for Pike's Beach to
join the Royal Terns that frequent the spits there, so I got over there ASAP
(~15 min.). There were indeed Royal Terns out on the eastern spit, 24 of
them (including 7 juvenile/immature), but the Sandwich was not among them.
It would have been great if I'd been right and been able to study and even
get a photo of the bird, but I considered myself very lucky anyway.
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