Signs of fall migration are in the air as we watched a number of small groups of Short-billed Dowitchers and Least Sandpipers flying over in small groups. Most of our migratory shorebirds nest in the Arctic, where the breeding season is quite short, which helps to explain their early southward movement. Some may head south in June if their first attempt at nesting fails, because there may not be time, in the brief Arctic summer, for a second attempt. In a number of species, one member of the pair will leave before the young are full-grown (or even before the eggs hatch), leaving the other parent to finish raising them. Leaders: Chris Marks, Shaun Bamford, and Karl Lukens.
34 species
Canada Goose 42
Mute Swan 67
Gadwall 2
Mallard 12
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Osprey 2
American Oystercatcher 4 1 young
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Least Sandpiper 2
Short-billed Dowitcher 12
Laughing Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Common Tern 4
Forster's Tern 32
Mourning Dove 4
Chimney Swift 1
Purple Martin 32
House Wren 1
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle 4
House Sparrow 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
