Condo Birding Update - Augu 31 to Sept 7 (ADULT Sabine's, Long-tailed J's, more)

31 August  - Hot/Humid/Yuck

1 Northern Harrier
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
3 Common Nighthawks


1 September - Hot/Humid/Yuck

1 White-winged Scoter
15 Chimney Swift
300 Barn Swallow
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Blackburnian Warbler
4 Chestnut-sided Warbler
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Wilson's Warbler
1 Indigo Bunting

The passerine birding was spectacular from the balcony in the morning. 7 freakin species of warblers - from 160ft in the air!  Not much else though... 

3 September - calm, east-ish winds, then turning south and stronger late (I missed most of the morning)

11 Northern Pintail
26 White-winged Scoter
17 Long-tailed Duck
1 Red-throated Loon
3 Common Loon
1 Red-necked Grebe
1 Parasitic Jaeger   -  intermediate juvenile chasing RBGU's - almost over land, right on deck
3 Sabine's Gull     - including an ADULT - I watched all 3 forage on the lake for ~15mins
1 Great Black-backed Gull (ad)
54 Common Terns (large numbers - I stopped counting later, as they were getting in the way)
2 Black-crowned Night-Herons
12 Common Nighthawks - huge number (I feel) - given my position on the lake

Goofball Parasitic

nighthawks!



September 5 - super south winds! Hot/hazy & yuck

2 Northern Shoveller
3 Lesser Scaup
3 Common Loon
15 Common Tern
1 Least Sandpiper
2 Common Nighthawk
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 Osprey
1 Peregrine Falcon

I also had an odd tern waaaay the heck out on the lake. Was flying with RBGU and looked slightly slimmer/smaller with an overall white look (but same length wings etc)... Gave an almost BOGU like feel at the distance... I watched it fly into the bay, and went after it - but no dice on finding anything unusual there. What a royal pain!


September 6 - they said north or north west winds. They were WRONG


10 Common Loons
1 Great BBacked Gull
1 Black-bellied Plover
13 Northern Shovels
1 WW Scoter
2 GW Teal
1 Common Merganser (FoF)
2 A Black Ducks
8 Am Wigeon
4 Long-tailed Ducks
8 Common Terns
2 Parasitic Jaegers

Another odd sighting was 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Kestrel and 1 Osprey that all crossed the lake (migrants) together and came ashore near my place. I also noted several high-flying flocks of Mallards and Canada Geese (the first notable movement of the fall that I've seen)


September 7 -  NW winds early, NE winds by mid day. AWESOMENESS ensued!

Even on the NW winds, a feeding frenzy kept the goodies coming.. A shift to NE winds, kept the goodies coming!

176 Common Tern - (SO many!)
3 Little Gull - (three adults TOGETHER inside a Common Tern flock! Insanity for Hamilton)
12 Sabine's Gull  (1 early, 8 (seen twice), then a max of 3 birds in the aft)
3 Parasitic Jaeger
4 Long-tailed Jaeger - (1 sub adult, 2 juv's together and up high - one juv later with 2 paja)
3 Bonaparte's Gulls

1 Common Loon
1 Peregrine Falcon - juv female, black over red band (NE USA bird!)
5 Black-bellied Plover

14 Green-winged Teal
2 Gadwall
1 Am Wigeon
11 White-winged Scoter
6 Long-tailed Duck

LOTS of ducks and geese moving - many Mallards and unID'd ducks seen