September--A Whitesbog-centric Month

American Golden-Plover

I pretty much spent all my time at Whitesbog after the first week of the month, once the bogs were drawn down. There really seemed no place else that was as attractive as those 3 muddy flats, along with the emptied-out Union Pond and Ditch Meadow behind that. You never know what's going to show up and since whatever does show up often doesn't stay, constant vigilance is required. I always like to say that when the water is down, the place becomes a mini-Brig, and even though it was September, the shorebirds did not disappoint. 

Long-billed Dowitcher with both sp. of yellowlegs

Early in the month, White-rumped Sandpipers were present, sometimes multiple birds, and later in the month there were 3 different sightings of Buff-Breasted Sandpipers, and opinion seemed to be that they were 3 different birds. The day I picked out a Long-billed Dowitcher (which did linger for a long time) was the same day that one of my fellow birders found a Baird's Sandpiper practically next to the dowitcher. And then finally, toward the end of the month, I found an American Golden-Plover, an immature bird, which, as of Friday, was still there, albeit having moved from Union Pond to the Upper Bog. That's five rarities in what amounts to about 10 acres of mud. 

Immature Little Blue Heron with Great Egret

Non-shorebird rarities (at least for Burlco) were multiple Snowy Egrets and an immature Little Blue Heron, both of which could be found by sorting through the very large flock of Great Egrets that took up residence to feast on trapped pickerel and frogs which were forced into ever-shrinking pools of water. 

To add to the fun of the month, there were a lot of swallows in the first 10 days or so, including Cliff Swallows, Bobolinks overhead, nighthawks and whip-poor-wills, and Eastern Screech-Owl. The raptor show included a pair of Bald Eagles and an immature bird, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin and American Kestrel, not to mention the big flock of vultures that alighted in Union Pond to pick at the dead fish. I missed a couple of birds (at least) like Wilson's Snipe and Great Horned Owl, but I was pretty happy with what I got. 

A couple of years ago, when the bogs were low in August, I made a determined effort to get 100 species at Whitesbog in one month, which I accomplished. I didn't occur to me to do that this month, but I doubt I would have been able to with a lot of the passerines having moved on. As it was, I had 88 species for the month at Whitesbog. It was patch birding at it's best.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
American Black Duck
Green-winged Teal
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Golden-Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Long-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal

American Kestrel, Union Pond