On and Off

Barbara Seith
Aug 4, 2024
4 min read

It was a somewhat inconsistent week of birding. Monday was rainy and I did not got out -- but I got a lot done!

Tuesday I was back at Quonnie and my friend Sue joined me. While we were sitting there, Sue Palmer spotted an odd bird -- at first thought it was a tern, as it came closer we both said "What the heck is that?" Slim bird, thin wings, small bill - Sue had the presence of mind to pick up her camera and when she looked at the photo she exclaimed "It's a Jaeger". We thought it was a Parasitic Jager, but further examination of the photos by eBird reviewers indicated Long-tailed Jaeger. Still a life bird & first Jaeger ever for me, such an unexpected place. Thanks Sue!

Quonnie Breachway

Long-tailed Jaeger - Photo Credit Sue Palmer

Lovely (and productive) morning. The Jaeger is pelagic bird (spends its life out on the water) so it was pretty odd to see it over a salt pond. New Life bird for me and the first Jaeger (there are a bunch of them) I have ever seen.

Also a Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher, which is rare(r) here and may someday be broken off into a different species. It is always fun to have the opportunity to get couch bird (when they change the taxonomy).

Lots of company avian plus Dan & Stan. Still looking Godwits, Western Sandpipers & the rarer Terns.

Ruddy Turnstone

Juvi Least Tern

Willet

Least Tern

Snowy Egret

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Least Tern

Short-billed Dowitcher

Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher (on left) Note cinammon feathers all the way back to the tail.

Piping Plover

Black-bellied Plover

47 Lesser Yellowlegs flyover

Wednesday was my favorite kind of morning at Quonnie. I went to sleep last night thinking I wasn't birding in the morning but when I looked @1am the forecast had changed. I headed there early and the place was empty except for the birds. I got the sunrise & almost high tide. Lots of birds to commune with a even a rare one (Royal Tern). It is days like this I remember why I adore Quonnie.

I had a Chiropractor appointment in Middletown, so I left when there was a sun shower and headed for Newport. I took some photos, but didn't think I saw anything... well there were two Whimbrel amongst a bunch of Cormorants in the back of a salt pond. I didn't see them when I was there, but when I reviewed the photos -- tada!

All my days should be so fun and peaceful.

Quonnie Breachway

Willet

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Common Tern

Piping Plover

Royal Tern

Common Tern

Laughing Gull

Herring Gull with Crab Sushi

Snowy Egret

Piping Plover

Common Tern

Ruddy Turnstone

Laughing Gull

Willet

Common Tern

Semipalmated Plover with something to eat (not sure what).

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Sanderling

Common Tern

Goose Neck Cove, Middletown

Whimbrel & Double Crested Cormorant

Thursday was another lovely morning at Quonnie -- 3 Stilt Sandpipers flew in, lots of egrets and peeps.. Maria and I spotted a peep who's take was constantly up in the air and was acting aggressively to other peeps (even traveling a distance to harass them). Turns out is was just a usual (Semipalmated Sandpiper) behaving badly, but it was so odd to me, I had to vet it with a few other birders.

Quonnie Breachway

Egret gathering

Juvi Least Tern

Stilt Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper & Greater Yellowlegs

Stilt Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper & Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Friday was a busy day at Quonnie -- I had two other birders for company and spotting. We had another Stilt Sandpiper, a Salt Marsh Sparrow & a Clapper Rail. Nice haul. Later I went to Heaton Orchard to see if there were any field sandpipers -- I was not the only one with that idea either -- 4 other birders... got a number of sandpipers - Pectoral, Solitary & Spotted among others.

Quonnie Breachway

Baby Horseshoe Crab (only about 2/5 inches wide) - clearly picked clear (probably by a Gull) but hatched and hanging around here.

Sunrise

Salt Marsh Sparrow

Stilt Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Forster's Tern

Greater Yellowlegs

Forster's Tern

Greater Yellowlegs

Forster's Tern

Great Blue Heron

Lesser Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs (back) & Lesser Yellowlegs (front)

Short-billed Dowitcher

Heaton Orchard - puddle

Pectoral Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Back to front - Pectoral Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Saturday I went to Connecticut to meet a friend for lunch and stopped in West Haven to see the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that have been hanging there and picked up a bonus 3 Monk Parakeets - there were likely more (making quite a racket), but only saw 3. Sorry no photos, except for this one...

And I thought Rhode Island traffic was bad in the summer...

Sunday I went to Quonnie very early (before sunrise) and was able to beat the rush. As I was packing the cart -- two Yellow-crowned Night Herons flew over the Breachway, circled and few time and flew back towards Bill's Island. They were vocalizing loudly -- so Cool.

Scott M joined me at the point and promptly spotted a Whimbrel on the Sandbar. Lots of activity out there until two dogs were set loose out there. Grrrrrrrrr!

Last stop was at Niantic pond in Watch Hill where I had two Green Herons land on the telephone wires right after I missed their poop shot.

Quonnie Breachway

Sunrise