Stebbins Refuge Morning Walk

After meeting at the usual spot for our September morning walks, we immediately drove to the parking area for the Longmeadow Sandbar.  Two unusual species had been re-ported to be there.  With the aid of scopes, everyone was able to see the Red Phalarope and the Red-necked Phalarope as they walked along the far side of the sandbar.  Our timing was good, as by late morning, the Red Phalarope had continued on its migratory journey.  There was also a Great Egret, several Ring-billed Gulls and three very distant peeps too far away for identification.

With the phalaropes on the morning's list, we moved on to walk the field edges off West Road, finding several Song Sparrows and two Swamp sparrows.  Warblers stayed high and silent, and mostly unidentifiable among the leaves, but we did manage to see Northern Parulas and several Common Yellowthroats.  There were also three species of woodpeckers - Downy, Red-bellied, and Pileated.

Checking out the mudflats further south on the river, we had Semipalmated Plovers and Least Sandpipers running around close to us.  As we moved on to see what was around on Pondside we added the expected species of Great Blue Herons, Mallards, Wood Ducks, and one migrant - DC Cormorant.  The 9 participants ended the morning walk with 27 species.