The two flights on Southwest Air to Manchester NH went without a hitch and my friend, Denny Abbott, was there to pick me up at the airport. We took off for Plum Island refuge, formally known as Parker River NWR. Actually the bird we were seeking, Curlew Sandpiper, was on the state property adjoining the NWR on the south side. When I got off the plane, I had a phone message from Chris Hitt who is doing a lower forty-eight big year. We had talked last night and I learned he was taking a red-eye to Boston to also look for the sandpiper. I called him and he had already been looking for the sandpiper, had not found it, and was getting some lunch. We made plans to meet at the park after lunch and look for the bird together. Denny and I stopped and had a sandwich and then drove on to Plum Island. We drove to the parking lot at the south end, parked, and walked south to the are where the bird had been seen. There were a total of about a dozen birders also looking for the bird. We were waiting for high tide when the shorebirds would be pushed up onto the wrack where they could be easily scoped. We certainly looked at a lot of Dunlin, but they were all Dunlin. There were plovers, gulls, and a few Caspian Terns around. Finally we noticed that there were a bunch of birds on the higher areas, so we turned our attention to those. After a false alarm with a Dunlin, we finally found the bird and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed watching it feed for quite a while. It was so tame that it wasn't hard to get photos of it which I did. In one you can see the white rump. This bird raised the list total to 711. Tomorrow Denny and I are gong to try to find a Barnacle Goose which arrived in a reservoir in Connectictut a couple of days ago.
The two flights on Southwest Air to Manchester NH went without a hitch and my friend, Denny Abbott, was there to pick me up at the airport. We took off for Plum Island refuge, formally known as Parker River NWR. Actually the bird we were seeking, Curlew Sandpiper, was on the state property adjoining the NWR on the south side. When I got off the plane, I had a phone message from Chris Hitt who is doing a lower forty-eight big year. We had talked last night and I learned he was taking a red-eye to Boston to also look for the sandpiper. I called him and he had already been looking for the sandpiper, had not found it, and was getting some lunch. We made plans to meet at the park after lunch and look for the bird together. Denny and I stopped and had a sandwich and then drove on to Plum Island. We drove to the parking lot at the south end, parked, and walked south to the are where the bird had been seen. There were a total of about a dozen birders also looking for the bird. We were waiting for high tide when the shorebirds would be pushed up onto the wrack where they could be easily scoped. We certainly looked at a lot of Dunlin, but they were all Dunlin. There were plovers, gulls, and a few Caspian Terns around. Finally we noticed that there were a bunch of birds on the higher areas, so we turned our attention to those. After a false alarm with a Dunlin, we finally found the bird and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed watching it feed for quite a while. It was so tame that it wasn't hard to get photos of it which I did. In one you can see the white rump. This bird raised the list total to 711. Tomorrow Denny and I are gong to try to find a Barnacle Goose which arrived in a reservoir in Connectictut a couple of days ago.
Very impressive photos - and even more impressive that it's a juvenile - so very few records of this age in North America! A great pick-up!
ReplyDeleteOoohh I love birds. This is a cool site. I am a postcards collector and postcards of birds are one of the themes that I collect.
ReplyDeletehttp://projeksatudunia.blogspot.com
Yipee! . . . and great pics to boot. Congratulations again. Renee
ReplyDeleteWow, Bob! 711 is awesome and a lucky number. It bodes well for the rest of 2010. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteGive my regards to Denny, from Linda, too.
I hit 711 myself, just this morning. Bought 17 gallons. No sandpipers on the lot, though. David
711 is a great number!!!!
ReplyDeleteAre you keeping the 2 splits for a bad day?
Hey Bob - I hope the scope was found! Just read the posts about it being left behind. I have done that - with binoculars, scope, and camera. No fun. But maybe the goose-chase was good!
ReplyDelete