Rainy, Windy Saturday 10/27/18

~American Pipit in the rain,  black dirt, 10/27/18.~

The rainy, windy weather put the kibosh on hawkwatch at Mount Peter today, so instead I ran around Orange County hoping that once again bad weather would equal good birding. I checked Greenwood Lake and Wickham Lake early and came up empty, so I decided to shift gears and head to the black dirt. By the way, birding today was tough. It wasn’t raining all that hard, but it was pretty steady and the wind was strong and relentless. You absolutely HAD to bird with your back to the wind, otherwise your binoculars or scope would be instantly drenched. Or the inside of your car.  Anyways, in the black dirt, the bird of the day was the American Pipit. I had many today, in several locations. In one flock, I was lucky enough to locate a couple of LAPLAND LONGSPURS, always a favorite of mine. I thought there might be some shorebirds around, but other than a single SANDERLING at Skinner Lane, I had no shorebirds in the black dirt (they’d come later, see below).

~Always a cool bird to see – one of two LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the black dirt, 10/27/18.~ 

In the afternoon I head to Glenmere Lake. Not for ducks, but for shorebirds. Kathy Ashman had let me know that she had been observing shorebirds on the vegetation in the southwest corner of the lake. You can walk out the blue trail about a half a mile or so and there is a lookout onto the lake. Which is what I did this afternoon, and I had a nice collection of shorebirds: 14 DUNLIN, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Least Sandpiper, and 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. I got pretty excited and went back to my car, unloaded my kayak, and headed out to get a better look. It was not the easiest paddle; it was with the wind on the way out and I was practically riding the waves but it was into the wind (and waves) on the way back, making it a bit of a chore. But, it was worth it! It was really cool to see these shorebirds up close and to get some photos. Oh, and of course there was bunch of American Pipits moving amounts the vegetation as well. I was exhausted and wet by the time I was done, but I felt I’d made the best of a blustery, wet day in Orange County.

~Dunlin at Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~ 
~Semipalmated Sandpiper at Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~ 
~One more Dunlin shot – Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~ 
~It’s always nice to see a White-crowned Sparrow. Skinner Lane, 10/27/18.~ 
~Lapland Longspur in the rain, 10/27/18.~ 

2 thoughts on “Rainy, Windy Saturday 10/27/18”

  1. Sounds like quite the adventure, Matt! Wonderful photos, and I can’t believe there are Pipits at Glenmere as well. I love that location.

    1. Yes, I was surprised but also not surprised to see pipits out there – Glenmere now really reminds me of Morningside Park (which also gets good shorebirds on formations in the lake), and I know John gets pipits out there from time to time. Glad you enjoyed the pics/post. Matt

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