Tourist Summer ends!

Barbara Seith
Sep 10, 2023
4 min read

Early day at Quonnie to avoid the Labor Day crowds -- warmer than I expected and it was low tide, so everything was pretty far away. Got a nice look at what I thought was possibly an American Golder-plover, but it had black armpits -- so Black Bellied-plover it is. Also nice to get another look at American Oystercatchers & Forster's Terns. Was out and about a little afterwards. The season is on the precipice of change. Couldn't be happier about that!

Sunrise

Suddenly there are two Common Loons

Greater Yellowlegs

Black-bellied Plover

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Common Loon

Short-billed Dowitcher (one with a longer bill)

American Oystercatcher

Forster's Tern

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Card's Pond Rd.

Cabbage White, Card's Pond Rd

Solitary Sandpiper, Shickasheen Farm

Greater yellowlegs, Shickasheen Road

Semipalmated Plover, Heaton Orchard

Tuesday -- Succotash Marsh this morning -- the first day I can actually sit in my favorite spot, right near the beach entrance and view the marsh from the comfort of my driver's seat. A lone bird with a long bill caught my attention. I actually thought I might be a Godwit of the Hudsonian type, so much so I sent a pic to several other birders -- all of whom encourage me, even though upon further examination I thought it might be a Willet -- but I was told "No Willet has a bill that long". Well turns out Western Willets do -- not a different species, but a sub-species of our familiar Eastern Willet. Of course I was corrected in public on the Rhode Island Rare Bird Alert -- all I can say is -- I am humbled and we all make mistakes.

Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Western Willet

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Road to the Great Swamp

American Goldfinch, Great Swamp Road

American Black Ducks, Shickasheen Farm

Peeps, Shickasheen Farm

Great Egrets, Atlantic Avenue, Westerly

Lovely Wednesday morning at Quonnie -- lots of birds and NOT a lot of people. Just the way I like it. My bird moment of the day was the Pectoral Sandpiper, who seemed to like the attention - it even relocated for better light.

Sunrise

Morning Raft of Double-crested Cormorants

Semipalmated Plover

Least Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Great Black-backed Gull with a broken wing. So sad.

Black-bellied Plover

Caspian Tern

Whimbrel

Pectoral Sandpiper

Willet

Semipalmated Plover

Pectoral Sandpiper

Black-bellied Plover

Caspian Terns

Common Loon

Great Egret

Semipalmated Sandpipers

Semipalmated Sandpiper & Least Sandpiper

Thursday was the best Tern day of the season - They didn't fly in until @8am but when they did, they did it en force! AND there were 9 Whimbrels. Was joined by Sue & Maria and LOTS of Birds! I am hoping the trend continues.

The early morning Whimbrels

The point when I arrived

Whimbrel on the wing

The Great Black-backed Gull from yesterday with the broken wing -- looking better.

Egret Trees...

Great Black-backed Gull looking even better!

Short-billed Dowitcher

Semipalmated Plover

Paws...

Pectoral Sandpiper

Common Tern (That I mistook for a Roseate)

Terns on the wing...

Forster's Tern

Pectoral Sandpiper

Forster's Tern

I think we were boring the Laughing Gull above...

Mixed Terns (and a few Gulls) on the wing

So many Terns... I LOVE IT!

Ring-billed Gull paws

Ring-billed Gull raising his prize (Razor Clam)

Paws!

Pectoral Sandpiper

and Finally the bird that had been flushing the birds on the point all morning -- my first Northern Harrier (actually there were two of them) of the fall. Spotted by Eagle eye -- Sue Palmer!

I went to Maria's family property in the evening to visit with this beauty - Great Horned Owl. It was brief (this is the only photo I got) -- it flew in and flew out.

As usual when I have a good day at Quonnie (like Thursday), on Friday I had company at the point this morning -- birds and birders. I stayed three hours -- they stayed 8! They did get the Whimbrel & Forster's Tern -- so they went away fairly happy.

Sunrise

Early morning Whimbrels

The point when I arrived -- soooo many Cormorants

Black-bellied Plover

Whimbrel on the wing

Fluffed up Snowy Egret

Least Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Least Sanpiper

Least, White-rumped & Western Sandpiper -- good example of size difference.

On the Sandbar -- Black-bellied Plover (breeding plumage) & Common Loon.

When I returned to Quonnie to check on Allison & Claudia -- they pointed out this little guy. He had been entertaining them all afternoon.

Saturday dawned to fog and a little mist. I started at Succotash Marsh -- where the light was lousy. Moved on to Narragansett & Jamestown with little luck. Hit the Turf fields and finally at Heaton Orchard I found the treasure -- a Ruff! This is a rare bird. I had found one last year in September at Quonnie. I was on my way out to the Ninigret Mud Flats in the summer when I aborted my trip because of a fairly high tide and the antibiotic I was on. That day a Ruff (a really beautiful one) was spotted on there. I would have been there had I not aborted -- but I missed it. I'm thinking that is why the bird found me today -- ha ha! I don't know why, but I am grateful to get to see one again. The adult Ruff (which was spotted this summer) is much more flamboyant than the Juvenile (both of the ones I've seen). Maybe someday I will get to see an adult.

Short-billed Dowitcher, Succotash Marsh

Whimbrels, Succotash Marsh

Caspian Tern, Wesquage Pond

Ruff, Heaton Orchard

The big bird is the Ruff -- in MUCH better lighting. Surrounded with Killdeer and a Pectoral Sandpiper.

Sunday morning was one of two days every two weeks that the tide is perfect for me at Quonnie. I don't have exact records on this, but it seems like almost every time this perfect tide comes along -- it rains or it is foggy (not unusual this summer). Today was supposed to rain, it just fogged. It wasn't terrible and I was surrounded by birds -- particularly several Whimbrels -- what fun.

Whimbrels (in the fog)