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.
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.
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…
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