It was back to the salt pannes on the morning high tide, and once again the Walsh Preserve did not disappoint. While we didn't have any rarities this time, we had a nice mix of the expected species, including some good side-by-side comparisons, with totals of 45 LESSER and 24 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 16 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 3 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS and a few LEAST SANDPIPERS with 75-100 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, and single calling SOLITARY and SPOTTED SANDPIPERS.
Joining the shorebirds in the pannes were 8 GREAT and 6 SNOWY EGRETS, a couple of GREAT BLUE HERONS, and about 6 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS with at least 40 or so MALLARDS. A RED-TAILED HAWK stood guards, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT worked the edge, and in the woods we heard the songs of a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and a more vociferous PINE WARBLER.
We then explored the new Cousin's River Fields and Marsh Preserve, our first birdwalk visit here. The one larger panne visible from here hosted only a few Lesser Yellowlegs and 1 Great Egret (although we could see the action in the Walsh Preserve pannes in the distance. Another Osprey flew overhead.
However, we did much better here with passerines, beginning and ending with a flock of about 25 CHIPPING SPARROWS and about 8 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS along the road. Three WILD TURKEYS and about 6 SONG SPARROWS were in the field, while we were entertained by a family group of at least 3 HOUSE WRENS in a brushpile.
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