Brig 6/5--Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Perhaps if I paid more attention to the rare bird alerts that pour into my inbox, I would have gone to Brig yesterday and seen the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that was putting on a show in the field across from Jen's Trail. But I only heard about yesterday when I was walking in Double Trouble and ran into a birder I know who'd gone to see it the previous day. Because today, despite checking the field 5 times, I came up empty. June tends to be a dull month, so I was willing to drive down there for the diversion, and, as it happens, Jen's Trail is my turnaround point when I do my early morning walk there from the Gull Pond, so it was all fitting together, except for the not finding the bird. (And then, of course, when I got home this afternoon, I saw two reports from people who did see the bird today, but both were scope looks of the flycatcher flying along the distant tree line and that didn't seem very satisfactory.) 

After the third check of the field, my attention then turned to finding something, anything, new for the year. There were easily a thousand Semipalmated Sandpipers spread out on the flats and had I patience enough, I'm certain I could have scoped them and picked out a White-rumped Sandpiper or 5, but that resembles work, so I looked for something easier. At Goose Marker 5 there is usually a sandbar that attracts terns and skimmers and today there were a few on it but nothing to add to the year list. I walked over the inlet side and checked out the Ruddy Turnstones and when I went back to the car, gave another look at the sandbar and saw that in the last 2 minutes, a Gull-billed Tern had miraculously risen out of the sand and was posing for me. 

And that was it. I found two more Gull-billed Terns at the northeast corner, where the Common Terns hang out, and nothing new. I check out the Scissor-tail field driving around and then again on my second loop. It was full of birds--Killdeer, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, even a displaying Wild Turkey tom, but not the bird I wanted. It was far out along the tree line and I never thought to scope.

63 species
Canada Goose  75
Mute Swan  2
Mallard  4
Ruddy Duck  21     Exact count GM 6
Wild Turkey  1     
Mourning Dove  4
Clapper Rail  3
Killdeer  2
Semipalmated Plover  1
Short-billed Dowitcher  4
Willet  25
Ruddy Turnstone  15
Least Sandpiper  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper  1000
Laughing Gull  150
American Herring Gull  10
Great Black-backed Gull  4
Black Skimmer  11
Least Tern  8
Gull-billed Tern  3     
Forster's Tern  10
Common Tern  1
Double-crested Cormorant  12
Glossy Ibis  10
Snowy Egret  4
Great Egret  8
Great Blue Heron  3
Osprey  10
Bald Eagle  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Willow Flycatcher  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  4
Eastern Kingbird  5
White-eyed Vireo  3
American Crow  5
Fish Crow  1
Common Raven  1     Upland. Seen & heard
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  5
Purple Martin  30
Barn Swallow  1
Northern House Wren  2
Marsh Wren  3
Carolina Wren  2
Gray Catbird  12
American Robin  5
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  2
Seaside Sparrow  3
Song Sparrow  6
Eastern Towhee  2
Orchard Oriole  1
Red-winged Blackbird  75
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Ovenbird  1
Common Yellowthroat  7
Yellow Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  2
Blue Grosbeak  3
Indigo Bunting  5