I'd been reading in my eBird Alerts that folks had been observing Baird's Sandpipers, Phalaropes, and other interesting shorebirds up at Delta Park, and today was finally my chance to see them. I'd never been to Delta Park, and when I arrived I found quite a bit to explore: the river banks and boat launch, the bike path bridge over the river to Burlington, and from there, on the shoreline, I could see boaters, kayakers, and birders. Birders with spotting scopes... that's the spot I was looking for!
As I came out onto the shoreline, I spied a massive flock of large black birds flocking over the water. Cormorants, I learned from veteran birder Roy Pilcher; almost a thousand of them.
Over the rest of the midday, I only managed 7 shorebird species* during my time on the shore, but for me the far greater find were the birders. Four men who share my passion for birds and birding, and whose names are always at the top of the eBird tallies. Jim Osborn, Jim Mead, Matt Cafield, and Larry Clarfeld; each of these gents were good spirited, enthusiastic towards birding and nature, and open to sharing their sightings and stories with the newcomer in their midst. In the 8 years that I've been birding, I have not yet met someone I wouldn't bird with again. Whether they drove a Toyota Corolla or a Lincoln Navigator, everyone has been enthusiastic to share what they've seen and where.
Today's checklist - 22 species:
Osprey
Ring-billed gull
Common tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Greater Yellowlegs*
Lesser Yellowlegs*
Baird's Sandpiper*
Least Sandpiper*
White-rumped Sandpiper*
Semipalmated Plover*
Sanderling*
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Black-throated Green Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
As I came out onto the shoreline, I spied a massive flock of large black birds flocking over the water. Cormorants, I learned from veteran birder Roy Pilcher; almost a thousand of them.
Over the rest of the midday, I only managed 7 shorebird species* during my time on the shore, but for me the far greater find were the birders. Four men who share my passion for birds and birding, and whose names are always at the top of the eBird tallies. Jim Osborn, Jim Mead, Matt Cafield, and Larry Clarfeld; each of these gents were good spirited, enthusiastic towards birding and nature, and open to sharing their sightings and stories with the newcomer in their midst. In the 8 years that I've been birding, I have not yet met someone I wouldn't bird with again. Whether they drove a Toyota Corolla or a Lincoln Navigator, everyone has been enthusiastic to share what they've seen and where.
Today's checklist - 22 species:
Osprey
Ring-billed gull
Common tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Greater Yellowlegs*
Lesser Yellowlegs*
Baird's Sandpiper*
Least Sandpiper*
White-rumped Sandpiper*
Semipalmated Plover*
Sanderling*
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Black-throated Green Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler