A combined BBC/SSBC trip to Plymouth Beach occurred yesterday. The weather, although hot, was not as humid as the past days or past trips. The lack of birds is deafening. Only 2 Common Terns and a total of only 117 (!!!) individual shorebirds of which 29 are nesting there (true-the young birders group saw a flock of 300 Semipalmated Sandpipers which we did not see). This trip should have 2-3 THOUSAND terns and several hundred to few thousand shorebirds. The terns were scared off early, in May, due to a raccoon and fox in the colony.
That said we enjoyed the day and seeing recently fledged Piping Plover and Least Tern is encouraging. We saw a few Least Terns courting at this late date; must have been failed breeders/lost young. I doubt such a late nesting would be successful as the safety in numbers issue would make them rather easy targets. If they do manage to get young to fledging the late date would make the young so inexperienced at a time when they need to migrate while learning to feed on their own would be problematic.
A southbound Whimbrel flying by on the long trip back was enjoyable.
Glenn
Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, US
Jul 23, 2016 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Comments: BBC/SSBC trip
41 species
Canada Goose 8
Mallard (Northern) 1
Double-crested Cormorant 7
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 11
Great Egret 3
Osprey (carolinensis) 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1 1S
Semipalmated Plover 25
Piping Plover 23
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Willet (Eastern) 6
Whimbrel 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 2
Least Sandpiper 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 50
Short-billed Dowitcher (griseus) 5
Laughing Gull 150
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull (American) X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Least Tern 75
Common Tern 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
Mourning Dove 8
Downy Woodpecker 1
American Crow 2
Horned Lark 1
Tree Swallow 3
Bank Swallow 10
Barn Swallow (American) 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 7
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow Warbler (Northern) 2
Song Sparrow 16
Common Grackle 4
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow X
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30826208
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