A Cool, Wet Week!

Barbara Seith
Aug 13, 2023
4 min read

A rainy start to the week -- first at Quonnie, then some to the Turf fields and finally to Spray Rock Point in Weekapaug.

Quonnie was fairly quiet -- lots of diversity but low numbers. I'm still waiting for the real Tern influx. But there were lots of Egrets & Herons.

Quonnie Sunrise before the rain...

Snowy Egret

Great Blue Heron - fishing!

Solitary Sandpiper at Shickasheen Farm

Ruddy Turnstones on an offshore rock, Spray Rock Point, Weekapaug

Ruddy Turnstones on a new rock (closer to shore)

The flock split up more

The only two left on the off-shore rock

A rare two birding session day -- When I was notified that someone had seen 33 Stilt Sandpipers at a local farm (Shickasheen)-- I was in the car in a New York minute. I still needed at Stilt Sandpiper for 2023 AND there were 33 -- I actually only counted 32, but counting birds isn't easy -- they move and hide behind each other. The most I remember seeing together here since I've been birding is 3 -- this was extraordinary. AND a bonus Wood Duck -- right out in the open (they are usually very cagey)!

Stilt Sandpipers

The usually cagey Wood Duck...

So before the above bird, I was thinking about what to paint in Art Club today -- torn between a Stilt Sandpiper and a Black Tern -- both birds I am trying to manifest for my 2023 list. As I was contemplating I got the alert that 33 Stilts had landed at a local farm. So when I got home I drew the Black Tern -- hopefully I will be telling you I found one in the next few days... we'll see. In the meantime -- here is today's Art Club output.So yesterday afternoon when I was thinking about what to paint in Art Club today I was torn between a Stilt Sandpiper and a Black Tern -- both birds I am trying to manifest for my 2023 list. As I was contemplating I got the alert that 33 Stilts had landed at a local farm. So when I got home I drew the Black Tern -- hopefully I will be telling you I found one in the next few days... we'll see. In the meantime -- here is today's Art Club output.

The thunderstorm predicted for this morning held off until I needed to leave Quonnie. I left a little later thinking I was going to just be sitting in the rain but it was fine and no rain predicted for an hour when I arrived, but I decided to sit on the boat ramp jetty instead of going out to the point.

If I had any delusions about me sitting there not disturbing the bird activity, they are gone now. The @200 Cormorants trooped right up on the beach and there were more Laughing Gulls & Terns than I have seen in quite some time. So I'm glad I sat where I did today. The light was a little challenging, but I did get a few shots I like.

Raft of Double-crested Cormorants

Add in some Egrets

and they head for the point

Snowy Egret

Double-crested Cormorant coming at you!

Tern poaching fish from Cormorants

A cool morning at Quonnie -- very Windy and ultimately mid-tide so slow. Went to the turf fields -- pretty slow & Spray Rock Road had a banded Ruddy Turnstone (which I reported) and more + 2 Spotted Sandpipers.

Yellowlegs across from the point

Common Tern

Greater Yellowlegs

Common Tern -- I liked this shape

Egrets & Gulls watching the Cormorant raft

Great Blue Herons (3 of 19)

Greater Yellowlegs & Willet

Juvi Piping Plover

Least Terns taking a bath

Least Tern

Spray Rock Road, Weekapaug

Juvi Spotted Sandpiper

Banded Ruddy Turnstone

Got the banding results in 3 days -- It's a female that was banded in 2018 in Cape May, NJ - hatched in 2106 or earlier.

Ruddy Turnstone

Adult Spotted Sandpiper (note the spots)

Very pleasant morning at Quonnie -- less windy than yesterday, but still had my vest on. Had some nice visits (it was high tide when I arrive), but missing the large number of terns I was expecting this month. This weekend I am going to do some data work to see if my intuition is correct. The Osprey and the HUGE fish was at Boyd's Lane Marsh -- I stopped on my way to the travel clinic.

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Gathering of the birds

Snowy Egret

Semipalmated Plover

Lesser Yellowlegs

Laughing Gull

Juvi Bonaparte's Gull

Short-billed Dowitcher

Pectoral Sandpiper

Black-bellied Plover

Least Tern looking mighty!

Boyd's Land March

Osprey with fish almost as big as him!

A cool windy high tide kind of morning at Quonnie. High tide means the birds are CLOSE! Had gorgeous morning light & some nice moments with a Common Tern, American Oystercatcher & Black-bellied Plover. I was cranky about going this morning, but I'm glad I did. Oh yes and my buddy the Savannah Sparrow was back.

Common Tern

Laughing Gull

Lesser Yellowlegs

Willet

Herring Gull's breakfast

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Common Tern

Greater Yellowlegs

My buddy, Savannah Sparrow

Contemplating if the plant is edible...

American Oystercatcher

Black-bellied Plover

Note the black "armpits"

American Goldfinch

Fledgling Osprey with breakfast

Saturday brought an early morning, wind and lots of people early. It was a fairly quick bird -- although a Whimbrel flew into the marsh and disappeared at one point, that was the maximum excitement for the day.

Lesser Yellowlegs & Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Snowy Egret

Short-billed Dowitcher

Sunday I skipped Quonnie amidst the Thunderstorms which made me leave home and hour later. Succotash Marsh and the Turf fields were most of my day with a brief stop at Misquamicut State Beach at the end. The whole time I was at the beach the PA system was saying please get out of the water! There are thunderstorms in the area for at least the next 30 minutes. Seriously -- what is wrong with people?

It was kind of a Green Heron day -- I saw five of them at two different locations -- one of them Shickasheen Farm -- I'm never seen one there before, let alone two.

Succotash Marsh

43 Snowy Egrets but not so many Greats!