Birding the Final Week of August

 What a week of birding the final week of August was.  I added to my Big Year Count, saw a few rare birds, and experienced one of the most awesome moments since I started birding.  On the 23^rd I added two Big Year Birds at North Point, St. Lucy, White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), and Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota).  Cliffs continued to show well throughout the week putting in appearances on the other end of the island at Inch Marlow, Long Beach, and Chancery Lane in Christ Church. 

Least Tern

My other year bird was a rare bird, a Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), seen once again at North Point on the 29^th.  The small size of this tern, the smallest in the Americas, measuring between 8.7–9.4 inchs (22–24 cm), was emphasized among the many peeps at that location.  On the 26^th while visiting the hospital, in the capital Bridgetown, I saw a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).  The bird unsuccessfully tried to join a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) rookery before flying directly over me and disappearing over the hospital.  

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks ducklings

Two days after that, I saw what I assumed was the same Glossy at the Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR) feeding happily.  Another rare bird, a Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), was also seen at WSR, along with 11 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) ducklings.  While I felt a measure of satisfaction with these sightings throughout the week, my best moment came on the 27th at Chancery Lane. 

A fraction of the Whimbrels seen @ CL

I was observing three Willets (Tringa semipalmata) when a shadow brought my eye away from the scope to the sight of 25 Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) passing just overhead and alighting a few feet from where I was standing. That was by far the most Whimbrels I’ve ever seen in one place, shattering the high of 6 birds I saw at the same location last year.

I would love to have  a few more weeks like this.  As the migrants continue to pour in I am excited to see what will turn up in September, the best month of the year.  Stay safe out there and get out and do some birding.