Monday's walks produce the birds

Dave Lord and Karl Lukens just sent in bird lists for our two Monday excursions this morning (full species lists can be seen on our Field Trip Reports page). Here are their highlights:

Karl Lukens reports from the Meadows Walk:

CMBO Morning Walk at the Meadows with Pete Dunne and the Gang was cold and very windy but still gave us some nice birding. lots of ibis and shorebirds, including one White-rumped Sandpiper, flying about and landing. Fun to watch a Bald Eagle "sparring" with an Osprey. A group of Bonaparte's Gulls close to shore was interesting. Other notable birds were a Blue Grosbeak fly-by, a Great Crested Flycatcher and a Bank Swallow.

Dave Lord reports: Monday morning's Back Bay Birding by Boat tour was fabulous, as any birding day in May should be. Many large flocks of Whimbrel flew by, many of which called, and Short-billed Dowitchers passed by overhead. Black-bellied Plovers were numerous and beautiful, and a fly-by Cliff Swallow was seen briefly. The biggest thriller of all would have to be the ruckus started when a Red-tailed Hawk flew through the Sunset Lake rookery. The Black-crowned Night Herons, Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets scattered like mad, flying about the area for over an hour. An adult Yellow-Crowned Night Heron got a delayed message and flew out later.

American Oystercatcher on the beach during this morning's Meadows Walk [Photo by Karl Lukens].

Glossy Ibis at the Meadows (Aka TNC's Migratory Bird Refuge) this morning [Photo by Karl Lukens].