Two Province Birds in Quebec – September 2018

Each of the last several years I’ve taken a boat trip out on Lake Champlain to look for pelagic species that migrate down the lake in small numbers.  This “pelagic” trip leaves out of Burlington, a good 3 ½ hour drive from home.  So given the long driving time I like to make these into 2-day trips, adding some birding time in the area the day before heading out on the boat.  This year I had one possible VT target statebird to try for – a Marbled Godwit reported for a couple days at the mouth of the Missisquoi River near Highgate.  But this bird was seen from a boat in the middle of the bay so the likelihood of seeing it from shore was not good.  However, it was still worth the try since I was in the area.

But the greatest opportunity to add “ticks” to my lists was not in VT, but instead in Quebec.  Just barely north of northwestern VT, just over the US-Canada line, is Baie Missisquoi.  In late summer, as the lake level drops in Lake Champlain, this bay can be an excellent spot for shorebirds.  I had birded there once before in 2016, adding several species to my Quebec list including Sanderling, White-rumped Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Baird’s Sandpiper, and a Peregrine harassing them all.  But the best bird was a very rare Western Sandpiper I discovered in with the peeps.  This year as I planned my trip the eBird reports were once again full of potential new province birds like Black-bellied Plover, Knot, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher (I already have Long-billed for the province), Turnstone, Wilson’s Phalarope, Solitary Sandpiper, and Caspian Tern.  Plus there were a few migrant passerines seen in the area that I needed as well.  Lots of potential new province birds.

However, the shorebird diversity dropped as my trip neared, and the last couple reports only featured one new possible province bird – Caspian Tern.  Undeterred, and ever the optimist, I kept with my original plans to spend some time birding in Quebec.  Plus I still had the Godwit to try for in VT.  The weather forecasters talked about a cold front that would pass through the area the morning of the day I would bird in Quebec, so I was hopeful additional shorebirds would arrive by the time I got there.  Plus that would bode well for Jaegers and other species that might migrate into Lake Champlain the next day.  So I was quite optimistic as I made the final preparations for the trip.

The next morning I was out of the house early and rode through a heavy line of showers that preceded the passage of the cold front – just as the meteorologists had predicted.  It was lunchtime when I finally arrived at Shipyard Road in Highgate.  Looking nearly a half-mile west toward the distant mudflats there were very few shorebirds – I could only find a few Yellowlegs and peeps, and no Godwit.  Though I counted at least 4 Caspian Terns, increasing my optimism that I might find them later in the day in Quebec as well.  From there I went a short distance to the north to the mouth of the Rock River where I found a nice collection of shorebirds including 3 Stilt Sandpipers (I’ve only had 1 other Stilt Sand in VT), and 2 Short-billed Dowitchers (another one I need in Quebec).  Things were looking up.

A few minutes later I headed north, passed through customs, and then entered the Philipsburg “campground” overlooking Baie Missisquoi.  The flats were extensive, and as soon as I stepped onto the mud I was nearly surrounded by feeding peeps.  The first couple I identified were Baird’s Sandpipers, including this cooperative bird.

And then a short distance away I picked out 2 Sanderlings – an excellent start.  Unfortunately try as I may, I couldn’t find anything else of interest.  I estimated about 300 total peeps on the flats, including 6 Baird’s, but none of my targets.  Finally I did spot one Caspian Tern in the distance so at least I added 1 new bird to my province list.  Quebec is my 5th province for this species (see my province map below).

There were a couple other birders at the flats and I checked in with them to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.  Alas, there was nothing I had overlooked.  Then the one birder, in broken English, asked where I was from.  When I told him Massachusetts, he asked my name.  He quickly recognized me, saying “You were the birder that found the Alaskan Sandpiper here in September 2016”.  (The French name for Western Sandpiper is Becasseau d'Alaska - Sandpiper of Alaska - since it only nests in Alaska.)  Wow – that was a surprise, and the highlight of the trip.

Before I left the campground I made a brief tour through the adjacent woodlands, but didn’t find a single migrant.  Ugh…

I made a few other stops around the bay, working my way counter-clockwise around the northern and western edges, but still couldn’t find any targets.  That included a 3-mile round-trip walk on the flats from the Florent campground, where I found both Yellowlegs and counted 14 Caspian Terns, but had very few peeps.  Perhaps the most interesting sightings here were 2 Bonaparte’s Gulls in rare juvenile plumage that I tried unsuccessfully to turn into Little Gulls.

My last potential target was Solitary Sandpiper.  Although this species had been reported a couple times at the bay, not surprisingly it was being seen more frequently inland, though at scattered locations.  A couple sightings were at Rang des Cotes, where a road passed over a small river.  After a short drive I pulled up to this site and took a look at the riverbanks below.  With a quick binoc scan I noticed a couple potential candidates in the distance downstream.  I scurried back to the car to get the scope, and then with a more detailed look I realized they were just Lesser Yellowlegs – 3 of them, with 2 Killdeer.  So much for the initial excitement.  But then I looked upstream on the other side of the bridge and there was a Solitary Sandpiper just a few feet away.  Success!  Quebec was my 6th province for this species.

That gave me 198 for my Quebec list – maybe I’ll get to 200 the next time I head out on a Lake Champlain pelagic trip.

 

P.S.  Despite the passage of the cold front, this year’s Lake Champlain trip was pretty slow.  My only Jaeger was a very distant “Jaeger, sp.”, which was far enough away that it could have actually been in NY.  Next time…

A First State Record and Three Pelagic Species in One Day in CT, August 2018

It all started with an absolutely amazing set of sightings in Long Island Sound off the CT coast.  First there were reports of a large number of Shearwaters at the eastern end of the Sound, with Great, Cory’s and Sooty Shearwaters seen in record numbers from the New London-Orient Point ferry.  Unfortunately I couldn’t break free to get out on the ferry during that time.  And when I finally could get out, the Shearwaters had mostly moved on.  The best I could do was add Great Shearwater to my NY list on one leg of one of these ferry trips. 

Then came CT reports of multiple Parasitic Jaegers seen from land, principally from Hammonasset Beach State Park.  And several of these reports included an occasional Shearwater.  All sightings were apparently associated with feeding frenzies including hundreds, if not thousands, of Terns.  I didn’t try chasing after these birds since the sightings were a bit hit or miss, apparently depending on whether there were schools of fish nearby to attract these pelagic species. 

All in all, this was perhaps an unprecedented set of pelagic sightings in Long Island Sound.  Unfortunately one that I hadn’t been able to experience.

That is until a report of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Essex, CT came across the listserve.  Photos confirmed the ID of this first state record, and many birders were able to see this most cooperative bird later that same day.  When the bird continued to cooperate the next morning, though seen in multiple spots in the immediate vicinity, I cleared my schedule to be able to make the trip to Essex on Day 3.  And since Hammonasset was within 30 minutes of Essex, I could combine the 2 locations into one trip with lots of statebird potential. 

But as I was piecing together the directions to the spots where the Whistling-Duck had been seen, I noticed a post that a birder watched it fly north around Noon and he did not refind it.  I posted to the listserve asking for other updates and unfortunately only received negative reports.  I tried to remain positive that it would return since vagrant BBWDs will often stay in one spot for quite a while, and decided to keep with my plans.  And just before closing the computer that night a post came across that the bird returned at 6:30 PM.  The chase was on!

I was out of the house before 6, arriving in downtown Essex by 7:45.  The Whistling-Duck seemed to prefer a small tidal pool in a suburban backyard at the corner of Ferry and Pratt Streets, so that was my first destination.  As I drove down Ferry Street nearing the intersection I looked to the left toward the pool and there was a lone duck standing in the lawn at the edge of the pool – it was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck.  I parked on Pratt Street and got crippling views of this extreme rarity, including these phonescoped shots as it fed in the mud.

 

CT was my 9th state for this species, most of which as a vagrant.

I was happy that my first target was so cooperative because I needed to move on to Hammonasset to try for my next objectives – pelagics on the Sound.  Within a half hour I was at the park gate and realized this was the first time I had ever been there “in season” requiring an entrance fee.  The $15 day pass seemed steep, but I hoped it would be worthwhile.

Minutes later I was at Meig’s Point and walked up to the observation platform.  Two birders were already there, and they mentioned they had just had a couple Jaegers.  And one birder had a Cory’s Shearwater.  That made me hopeful for what might lie ahead, though I wished I could have been there a bit earlier.  With a first scope scan I could see a large flock of Terns flying low over the water – we had a feeding frenzy with critical mass for the pelagics.  And sure enough within a couple minutes I picked out a slim Jaeger which was very most likely a Parasitic.  Then I spotted another, and another, and soon had a group of 6 Jaegers all in one scope field!  Over the next 45 minutes the feeding frenzy continued nearly directly off the point, and we had at least one Jaeger in sight nearly the entire time.  And we all agreed that at least a few we could positively ID as Parasitics, with all the others most likely Parasitics as well.  CT was my 12th state for this species – I only need it in VT to complete the sweep of all 6 New England states.

Over the next couple hours the feeding frenzy would die down, and sometimes completely stop.  And then a few minutes later we would find the big flock of Terns a short distance to the east or west, again accompanied by multiple Jaegers.  I conservatively reported 6 Parasitics in my eBird checklist, since I had 6 in view at once, but the total could well have been more.  Then there was one that got away - at one point I spotted a Jaeger to the west of us, and watched it fly by eventually out of sight to the east.  It was not associating with any of the Terns as all the other Jaegers were, and was apparently just migrating through the area.  Most interestingly, I could not see any white in the primaries.  Could it have been a Long-tailed?  Unfortunately it was too far away for a definitive ID of these very tricky species.

By 11 the activity had slowed dramatically and the other two birders left the point.  I thought about calling it quits myself, very content to have found my second CT statebird for the day.  But then another couple birders arrived, and I decided to stay a bit longer to compare notes.  A little later one of those birders spotted a Shearwater flying west.  Although it was distant we could ID it as a Great.  Finally had my first Shearwater for CT after many unsuccessful trips on the Ferry.  And then a bit later while searching through another Tern flock I spotted another Shearwater gliding by – this one was a Cory’s.  A few minutes later I spotted another Great actively feeding in the Tern flock.  Amazing!  Good thing I didn’t leave earlier!

My statebird maps for Great and Cory’s Shearwaters are very similar – all the coastal states from NY north, plus a few mid-Atlantic states.  I’ve also seen both species in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

On a comparatively minor note, I also had excellent results with Black Terns during my seawatch.  In my last hour there twice I had a single flyby of a Black Tern heading west, once had a pair heading west, and twice I spotted a group of 4 birds feeding in with the Common Terns.  I initially reported 8 Black Terns for the morning, only counting the group of 4 once.  But later I was notified that 8 would be a new record for a single location in CT, so I decided to be overly conservative and revised the total to just 4.  Those were only my second Black Terns for the state.

I guess the $15 entrance fee to Hammonasset was a worthwhile investment after all.

A first CT state record, then not 1 but 3 pelagic species all from land.  That brings my CT statelist to 331.  What a day!