My focus this week has, unsurprisingly, been on shorebirds. The rest of the week paled in comparison to my amazing experience with the Red-necked Phalarope on Monday evening, but there are some decent shorebirds around and it’s been good to get out.
6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary has been decent for shorebirds. I birded from the Heritage trail twice this week and the place is loaded with Least Sandpipers and Killdeer. I also had a single Pectoral Sandpiper each visit. On Saturday afternoon I ventured out to Citgo Pond; a spot I haven’t been to in absolutely ages. The trail is totally overgrown, and getting to the pond was a bear. Once there, sweaty and bloody, I had a Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, and a single Semipalmated Plover.
I was leaving the Heritage Trail one evening this week and I drove past the Goshen Park and Ride. I noticed that the water level was low, so I stopped and was happy to find good conditions and a decent number of shorebirds. I’ve stopped there several times this week and had the following birds: Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, and Killdeer. This place could get a good bird this fall, and parking is super easy and the viewing is not too bad either.
I also ventured back to Sullivan County to Morningside Park for a second time this week on Saturday morning. Unfortunately a Merlin seems to have taken over the place, and the only shorebirds I found were a Killdeer and a single Solitary Sandpiper. There was also a couple of Bald Eagles present, including one young bird which was crying the entire time I was there. Otherwise, it was pleasant to be out on the calm beautiful water just after sunrise, and I also had a nice experience with a Pied-billed Grebe which didn’t seem to mind my presence very much.
Matt,
Just an FYI, I worked in Chester for many years. The ponds at the Goshen intersection at Rt 17 were one of the best spots for shorebirds for over a decade. Once the beavers dammed the adjoining marsh, the water levels didn’t go down enough for good shorebird habitat at the ponds. It sounds like this year’s drought has made those conditions good again. The reason I bring it up is that for many years, there were Stilt Sandpipers, as many as seven at those ponds every year. It’s been years since that has happened, but this might just be the year it happens again. I hope it does and that you find them. Good luck! John
I’ve thought about you often this week John, because at some point you actually told me how good the ponds used to be. I’m optimistic that we might get something good; time will tell. Thanks as always for checking in. Matt