Several people joined me on our morning trip.   The weather was cool.  Skies were overcast  with occasional rain…No problem with greenheads, but mosquitoes were plentiful.. Forty nine species of birds were seen.  The highlight was the AMERICAN AVOCET which was still there after a week.. Also seen were two FOSTER’S  TERNS several RUDDY TURNSTONES, (thank you, Karsten), 136 SNOWY EGRETS in the Stage Island Pool along  with 16 GREAT EGRETS and 2 PIED-BILLED GREBES. The  tree swallows are beginning to gather in the refuge along with the KINGBIRDS…  Complete list below:

Canada Goose  30

Gadwall   6

Black Duck  1

Turkey   1

Pied Bill Grebe  2

D.C. Cormorant  14

Great Blue Heron  4

Great Egret    1

Snowy Egret   136

Osprey   3

Black Bellied Plover  4 +

Semipalmated Plover  50 +

Piping Plover  4

Killdeer 5

American Avocet  1

Spotted Sandpiper  1

Greater Yellow-legs  12 +

Lesser Yellow-legs 2

Ruddy Turnstone  6

Sanderling  2

Semipalmated Sandpiper 40+

Least Sandpiper  6

White-rumped Sandpiper 4

Short-billed Dowitcher    16+

Herring Gulls

Great Black-backed Gulls

Common Tern  2

Least Tern   4

Forster’s Tern  2

Rock Pigeon   1

Mourning Dove  4

Eastern Kingbird  15 +

American Crow 6

Purple Martin  8

Tree Swallow 200+

Barn Swallow   4

Marsh wren  2

American Robin  40 +

Gray Catbird   4

Northern Mockingbird   1

European Starling     100+

Cedar Waxwing  4

Swamp Sparrow  2

Bobolink   1

Red-wing Blackbird  10

Common Grackle   10

House Sparrow   1

Ida Giriunas

Reading,  MA