early migration

I spent a solid hour late yesterday morning on the bay side of Tiana Beach where my granddaughter Juliette was taking her next-to-last swimming lesson. It is a good spot to watch fall migration in its early stages! Yes, fall migration. Even in the face of some drizzle and more than a bit of wind, there was a strong movement of Barn Swallows along with Tree, Bank and Rough-winged Swallows, all darting and swooping along the beach but ultimately always moving in the same direction -- northeast-to-southwest. Also many shore birds were making the same move. Seen yesterday: Semipalmated Plovers, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Short-billed Dowitchers, all flying in small flocks in the same direction along the shore. You really notice the similarities in the structure and flight of small shorebirds and swallows in this migration; both fly in open, windy areas, crossing continents with their swept-back wings and high-style flying abilities into the wind.

About half way through the hour, I heard a melodious piping falling from the sky and discovered two Whimbrel flying over the dunes and out to the ocean. A short while later, I heard the same distinctive call coming from the extensive marshes just to the east. And, lo and behold, there were three Whimbrels flying over the marsh and dropping out of sight into the marsh. Eileen Schwinn found another bird this morning on the mussel flats just west of Ponquogue Bridge (see attached photo). Those flats have been the best place to find a Whimbrel or two at this time of the year but my experience yesterday suggests that there are a lot more Whimbrels around than we realize; many of them are flyovers but others stop in deep marsh habitat far from the road. The best way to find them is to recognize their aerial piping, a distinctive midsummer sound.

There were also sandpipers on our pond and marsh this morning -- Spotted, Least and Semipalmated -- as well as two Great Blues and at least one Snowy Egret. Two or three House Wrens were hanging out with a couple of Carolina Wrens in the hurricane blasted bushes near the head of the marsh. I'm still looking for the overdue Northern Waterthrush which should show up any day now.

Eric Salzman