Birdwalk Highlights for 7/11: Walsh Preserve, etc.

Despite the heat, "fall" southbound shorebird migration is upon us, and with the morning high tide, we wanted to see what is happening at our local shorebird patch. Once at the pannes, we were pleasantly surprised to find enough water and a really nice assortment and tallies of shorebirds for the early date: 20+ LEAST SANDPIPERS, 21 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 13 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 4 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, 3 KILLDEER, and our first two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS of the season (and year for some!).

Joining them were 8 GLOSSY IBIS and 5 SNOWY EGRETS, and we spied at least 2 NELSON'S SPARROWS (plus several distant unidentified "sharp-tailed sparrows). Two BARN SWALLOWS flew around, 6 CEDAR WAXWINGS took off overhead, and a subadult BALD EAGLE slowly gained altitude.

In the woods and edge, we heard and/or saw 3 SONG SPARROWS, 2 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 2 PINE WARBLERS and one each of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, RED-EYED VIREO, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SCARLET TANAGER, and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.

A stroll at the nearby Cousin's River Fields and Marsh Preserve padded some tallies and added EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE (a nice look at it too,) and others to the morning's list, but the salt pannes here were devoid of birds as usual.

Finally, we stopped at the Yarmouth Town Landing where one adult Bald Eagle was perched above the nest (which looked to be empty now), while adding a few things to the morning's scoreboard like 10 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and 2 GRAY CATBIRDS.