Birdwalk Highlights for 10/11: Wolfe's Neck Center, Freeport.

With sparrow and "scrubby migrant" season upon us, we headed over to Wolfe's Neck Center. Between the two sparrow hotspots, and the edges in between, we enjoyed a decent early-season tally of 9 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS along with totals of 68 SONG SPARROWS, 50 SAVANNAH SPARROWS, 19 SWAMP SPARROWS, 11 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, and 1 CHIPPING SPARROW.

Other migrants encountered here and there included a single RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and a fly-over AMERICAN PIPIT; two each of EASTERN PHOEBE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, PINE WARBLER, PURPLE FINCH, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. One MERLIN zipped through the edge, a stunning adult male, while a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD stood guard over the pasture.

Beginning and ending at the cove, we had some nice early and late diversity as well, with some of our observations included 2 GREAT BLUE HERONS (one of which moved to the sparrow fields along with us), 12 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 9 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and one lone LAUGHING GULL out on the mudflat. Farther out in the water, a growing contingent of winter waterbirds included more COMMON EIDERS, 27 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 2 RED-THROATED LOONS, and 1 COMMON LOON. Meanwhile, one OSPREY was still around.

Unfortunately, we also found evidence of another, likely fatal, birdstrike with a small cluster of feathers stuck to the window of the Smith Center. How many more birds need to die here?