A Brief Trip

Cyndi and I made a fairly brief and decidedly low effort birding trip through SMNWR beginning late morning today. Here are a few sightings (or lack thereof) that may be of interest to someone:

Stony Bayou #1 – the tide was high in the Bay, so lots of shorebirds to peruse, most of them transitioning into breeding plumage. The Black-bellied Plovers are looking sharp. FOY Least Terns

East River Pool – Red-breasted Mergansers, getting late for them (also at three other locations in the refuge today), Stilt Sandpipers (thanks to alert from Jeff O’) in the company of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs.

Mounds/Tower Trail – here’s the “or lack thereof” part – dead for passerines, perhaps not yet arrived from trans Gulf migration. A couple of Indigo Buntings, zilch for warblers. A Scaup sp. was seen on Picnic Pond from Mounds Trail, which, with Blue-winged Teal, put the duck total at three species, better than my two species of warbler, both heard only (I said it was low effort birding)

HQ Pond – the first Purple Gallinule I’ve seen on HQ Pond in months. It was very close to Lighthouse Road.

Lighthouse Pool – a Marbled Godwit among the many Willet, Turnstones, Forsters and Royal Terns 

Lighthouse salt flats – a few Whimbrel among the other shorebirds.