next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
Aug. 9, 2006 - I arrived at the WINDSOR SEWAGE PONDS at 1:40 p.m., about a half-hour after the high tide, which is growing now toward a peak just a few days after todayıs Full Moon. When I arrived, I counted about 150 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS roosting mostly on the west bank of the nearest pond to the road. Over the next half-hour this flock grew to at least 210. These black-bellies provided me with several nice flights, back and forth, high and low, apparently spontaneously without stimulation from some predator. Then, about 1.5 hours after high tide, most of the black-bellies flew away toward the north (toward the mouth of the St. Croix River, which enters the Minas Basin just north of the tourist bureau at the east end of the causeway. Other shorebirds present were about 10+ YELLOWLEGS, of which about 7 were LESSERS and 3 GREATERS. At the risk of losing some of my credibility, I will re-emphasize just how difficult I find the yellowlegs to differentiate to species, since often relative size is difficult to estimate. Today I was scoping two that I thought were greaters, when I realized that a non-yellowlegs with them that was not much smaller was a dowitcher! Thus my two greaters became lessers! Also a bit later I found a greater foraging next to a lesser. Obviously via this paragraph I am cautioning other birders to exercise careful scrutiny. Other shorebirds present were 2 DOWITCHERS (no doubt short-billed), 2-3 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, and a single unidentified small sandpiper (PEEP). Other birds present were 40 RING-BILLED GULLS, all adults and subadults, plus a few other gulls, a single moulting male RING-NECKED DUCK, about 40 BLACK DUCKS, 2 MALLARDS (m/f), 1 ³HYBRID² BLALLARD OR MACK DUCK, 2 ³female² GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and a strange-looking pale teal-sized duck that I couldnıt identify (on the second pond away from the road -=- the gate was open when I was there).
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects