We had a smaller group today vs previous weeks, I counted 26 at one point. This is no surprise given the Muckrace the day before. Nevertheless, we had an excellent outing with still a nice group of shorebirds and an even greater group of people. We had all levels from beginner to advanced. Many people got on life birds which was awesome! There really wasn't anything new for Knox-Marsellus that we could find. But we focused a lot on shorebird and other species ID. A special thanks to Dave Nutter, who even after doing the Muckrace the day before, came out and assisted in leading part of the group. All these weeks, Dave Nutter has been a fixture on these walks either leading or assisting and they wouldn't be the same without him! Thanks Dave! I would like to thank Adrian Burke from Binghamton University who also assisted in finding birds for the group.
We were fortunate to be joined by Dr.Ken Rosenberg and Dr. Adriaan M. Dokter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I appreciate Ken's insights on the details and life histories of our shorebirds and other species. Ken went over the finer points of shorebird ID with BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED vs SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, and several other species. He also explained molting patterns, aging and other finer points. This was much appreciated among the more advanced birders and beginners alike. Thanks Ken! Bird Highlights: nice views of BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, STILT SANDPIPERS, LONG BILLED DOWITCHERS, PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and good comparison views of LEAST and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, and GREATER vs LESSER YELLOWLEGS. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was still present and took off right in front of us. The summering CANVASBACK was still present. We had one thermal that had 2 BALD EAGLES, OSPREY, several TVs, a BROAD-WINGED HAWK, and a monarch butterfly. Above these raptors (and butterfly) were a load of migrating swallows which was really cool. We also saw thousands of mainly red-winged blackbirds which was an awesome sight over the fields by the mucklands. Here is the list we complied. https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59615396 We didn't bird much in the woods. I know Dave Nutter had a group that got on some warblers and I believe a red-eyed vireo in the woods at the beginning that we didn't . We had a long discussion on the difference between Long and Short-billed Dowitcher in juvenile plumage. I have a nice photo of both species in an ebird list that shows photos of both species in juvenile plumage that I promised I would link. See this ebird list from a few week ago. https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59198143 The LBDO is third bird from the right all photos. Rest are SBDOs. This is the last of the shorebird walks this fall migration season. I would like to thank Linda Ziemba for doing a nice job at managing Knox-Marsellus Marsh for the shorebirds and Andrea Van Beusichem for advertising and promoting these walks. Best, 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/ --