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1 Sep Azores peep: ID debated [Dominic Mitchell ] 27 Aug Western or White-rumped Sandipiper? - James Bay Photos [Jean Iron ] 23 Aug James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #6 - Photos [Jean Iron ] 17 Aug Re: banded Semipalmeted Sandpiper [DJ Lauten and KACastelein ] 17 Aug banded Semipalmeted Sandpiper [Anthony Levesque ] 17 Aug 31 shorebird spp. at 2 sites in South Carolina last Friday [Nate Dias ] 14 Aug James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #5 [Jean Iron ] 11 Aug poss. Common Ringed Plover [DJ Lauten and KACastelein ] 8 Aug SNPL [Patrick Leary ] 7 Aug James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #4 [Jean Iron ] 2 Aug James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #3 [Jean Iron ] 23 Jul James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #2 [Jean Iron ] 18 Jul James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #1 [Jean Iron ] 16 Jul Shorebird Breeding Success in 2010 [Jean Iron ] 8 Jul Shorebird Guide to Southern Ontario [Jean Iron ] 6 Jul Awesome news from Australia [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 1 Jul Shorebird news from your area [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 18 Jun Non-breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is online [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun images of shorebird eggs and chicks [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun images of shorebird eggs and chicks [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun images of shorebird eggs and chicks [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun images of shorebird eggs and chicks [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun WorldWaders News Blog [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun WorldWaders News Blog [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun WorldWaders News Blog [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Jun WorldWaders News Blog [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 11 May WorldWaders [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 5 May bog about shorebirds [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 22 Mar Fwd : shorebird mapping - seeking for help [Cyril Schönbächler ] 18 Mar shorebird mapping - seeking for help [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 21 Oct Sony VAIO CS280J/R - Core 2 .. [Schmitt Fabrice ] 8 Sep Re: Sand-plover in Virginia [DJ Lauten and KACastelein ] 8 Sep Re: Sand-plover in Virginia [David Hartgrove ] 8 Sep Re: Sand-plover in Virginia [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 8 Sep Sand-plover in Virginia [Pete Myers ] 2 Sep GIS Mapping Workshops in Georgia [New Urban Research ] 30 Aug Palm Beach Sod Farms Shorebirding [Robert Wallace ] 27 Aug Great Knot in San Diego, CA USA [Jay K ] 11 Aug OrnithoCalendar [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 11 Aug Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend [Andrew Cripps ] 4 Aug James Bay Report # 6 - photos [Jean Iron ] 4 Aug Belle Glade FL Agricultural fields [Robert Wallace ] 2 Aug James Bay Report # 5 [Jean Iron ] 31 Jul American Golden Plover CP - Request for revieuw ["Arne J. Lesterhuis" ] 27 Jul James Bay Report # 4 [Jean Iron ] 23 Jul James Bay Report # 3 [Jean Iron ] 21 Jul FW: Greater Flamingoes at Snake Bight and a Few Migrants [Charlie Ewell ] 19 Jul new wader books ["Norman D.van Swelm" ] 19 Jul James Bay Report # 2 [Jean Iron ] 16 Jul satellite tracking [Patrick Leary ] 16 Jul James Bay Report # 1 [Jean Iron ] 26 Jun Arctic Breeding Conditions in 2009 [Jean Iron ] 25 Jun Eastern Arctic Chill [Patrick Leary ] 26 May FW: Greater Sand-Plover 2009-05-26 -- Maybe??? [Charlie Ewell ] 26 May Fw: [FLARBA] 5/25/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County [Charlie Ewell ] 23 May Fw: [FLARBA] 5/23/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County [Charlie Ewell ] 21 May Fwd: Greater Sand-plover, White-rumps, Red Knot [Charlie Ewell ] 21 May Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand Plover. Yes. Baird's Sandpiper. Huguenot Park [Charlie Ewell ] 19 May [Fwd: Huguenot Park conditions] [Charlie Ewell ] 18 May Datos de Phalaropus tricolor ["Arne J. Lesterhuis" ] 18 May Fw: [FLARBA] 5/18/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County [Charlie Ewell ] 17 May Fw: [FLARBA] 5/17/09--Greater Sand-Plover, Duval County [Charlie Ewell ] 16 May Greater Sand-Plover (continues) 5/16/09--Duval County, FL [Charlie Ewell ] 15 May Re: Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! [Diane Reed ] 15 May Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! [Charlie Ewell ] 14 May Greater Sand-plover images [Patrick Leary ] 14 May FW: [FLARBA] Photo Update--5/14/09--Greater Sand-plover, Duval County [Charlie Ewell ] 14 May FW: Greater Sand-Plover photo by Roger Clark [Charlie Ewell ] 14 May GREATER SANDPLOVER reported in northeast Florida [Charlie Ewell ] 12 May South Carolina shorebird migration and rarities [Nate Dias ] 25 Mar Just Announced - GIS Mapping Workshops in Georgia [New Urban Research ] 23 Mar Sociable Lapwing issue again [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 23 Mar Sociable Lapwing issue again [Gyorgy Szimuly ] 10 Mar banded DUNL confirmed and identified [Patrick Leary ] 28 Feb color-banded Dunlin [Patrick Leary ] 16 Feb Eurasian Woodcock survey by hunters [Gyorgy Szimuly ] Subject: Azores peep: ID debated From: Dominic Mitchell <dominic.mitchell AT YAHOO.CO.UK> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:47:24 +0000 Hi all There has been debate elsewhere recently about the identification of assorted Calidrids on the Azores, where Little Stint is a scarce migrant, Semipalmated Sandpiper is a rarer visitor in autumn (about half as many records) and Western Sandpiper is a less-than-annual vagrant. I have seen a number of Semipalmated Sandpipers in the islands, which are the most westerly outpost of the Western Palearctic, and at least two Little Stints, as well as another small but rather long-billed calidrid. It is the identity of this last bird which I'm currently soliciting opinions about; see the image on my blog at www.birdingetc.com. Comments left so far favour Western over Semipalmated (with one for Dunlin); I'd welcome more input from the seasoned shorebird observers on this list as to what they think it is and why, so comments on the blog would be welcome. Thanks Dominic Mitchell -- www.birdingetc.com http://twitter.com/LondonBirds www.birdwatch.co.uk Subject: Western or White-rumped Sandipiper? - James Bay Photos From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:42:30 -0400 There is now full agreement by experts on the ID-Frontiers listserv that the unidentified sandpiper mentioned in James Bay Shorebirds report #6 on 23 August 2010 is a White-rumped Sandpiper. Here are photos showing variation in White-rumped Sandpipers from James Bay. See details in captions. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2010/JamesBay2010/whiterumpedvariation.htm Original two photos of bird under discussion. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2010/JamesBay2010/longridge2.htm Jean Iron & Ron Pittaway Toronto & Minden, Ontario Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #6 - Photos From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:05:29 -0400 This is my sixth and final report for the period 14-17 August 2010 at Longridge Point on southern James Bay. The crew returned home on 18 August. I was a volunteer surveying the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot and other shorebirds under the direction of Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum. Other crew members were Don Sutherland, Mike McMurtry, Doug McRae, Lisa Pollock, Christian Friis and Ray Ford. Click link at bottom for 6 pages of photos and observations from this year's survey. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS: For most species only the high count day is given in checklist order. Black-bellied Plover: 71 on 15 August - all adults molting from alternate to basic plumage. We did not see juveniles, which normally begin arriving in James Bay in late August and early September. American Golden-Plover: 2 on 14 August - all adults molting from alternate to basic plumage. Juveniles normally start arriving in James Bay in late August and early September. Semipalmated Plover: 176 on 15 August - 1/2 juveniles. Killdeer: 17 on 15 August - 1/2 juveniles Spotted Sandpiper: 17 on 15 August - 2 adults in full alternate plumage, 15 juveniles. Greater Yellowlegs: 214 on 16 August - more than 1/2 juveniles. Adults were molting from alternate to basic plumage. Many adults were in wing molt suggesting that a good number of adults undergo a complete prebasic molt in James Bay before continuing south. Of those adult shorebird species that molt during migration, most molt only body feathers and delay wing molt until reaching the wintering grounds. Lesser Yellowlegs: 454 on 16 August - mostly juveniles. Whimbrel: 14 unaged birds on 16 August. Hudsonian Godwit: 556 molting adults on 13 August and 448 on 15 August. No juveniles as of the 16th. They should arrive soon. Most adults depart James Bay by early September whereas the juveniles remain well into September. Marbled Godwit: 5 juveniles on 12 August were the last sightings. Ruddy Turnstone: 994 on 16 August. Mostly adults with only a few juveniles. RED KNOT: 705 on 14 August, 1989 on 15th and 994 on 16th. Most were adults with about 8-10% juveniles. Many adults were bright red suggesting that they were recently arrived males from the breeding grounds. On 15th at high tide, knots flew in late evening to the tip of Longridge to roost for the night. Sanderling: 153 molting adults on 15 August. First juvenile on 16 August. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 4300 mostly juveniles on 16 August. WESTERN SANDPIPER? Doug McRae photographed a possible adult on 10 August. See 2 photos on page 2 of website via link below. We sent the photos out for opinions. One reviewer said, "White-rumped is a reasonable conclusion. I don't see anything obviously wrong. The rufous bird in the second photo has the same bulk and same outline as the White-rumped to its left." Readers are invited to comment. There is one previous report of Western Sandpiper from James Bay. Least Sandpiper: 222 on 15 August. Most were juveniles except for a few adults. White-rumped Sandpiper: This is most common shorebird at Longridge. 6650 molting adults on 16 August. Some recent arrivals (males?) were still in worn alternate plumage. The west coast of James Bay is a critical stopover site for White-rumps to fatten and molt before migrating to the wintering grounds in southern South America. The first juveniles begin arriving in late August. Pectoral Sandpiper: 252 on 15 August. Pectorals are not on the tidal mudflats. They prefer short and medium height grassy areas. Dunlin: 141 adults on 16 August. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER: 1 adult on 15 August, 2 adults and 4 (first) juveniles on 16th. Short-billed Dowitcher: 5 juveniles on 15 August Wilson's Snipe: 35 on 16 August. Wilson's Phalarope: 1 molting juvenile on 15 and 16 August. Red-necked Phalarope: 3 juveniles on 16 August. OTHER BIRDS: Little Gull, 3 molting adults and 1 molting into second basic plumage on 16 August. Black Tern, 1 adult on 16 August. Common and Arctic Terns, 18 adults and juveniles on 16 August. After checking many small terns, we conclude that Common Terns are more frequent than previously believed. Great Horned Owl, 2 duetting on 15 and 16 August. Common Nighthawk, 1 on 14 August. Eastern Kingbird, 3 on 16 August and 1 on 17 August. Tree Swallow, 152 on 15 August and 321 on 16 August. Bank Swallow. 31 on 15 August and 62 on 16 August. Cliff Swallow, 18 on 15 August and 80 on 16 August. Barn Swallow, 1 on 15 and 16 August. SWIFT, one was seen on 16 August by Doug McRae and Don Sutherland during a major swallow migration. It had a distinct whitish throat and contrasting pale rump strongly suggesting a Vaux's Swift (no Ontario records) from western North America. The observers are confident that it was not a Chimney Swift, which breeds farther south in Ontario. They will file reports with the Ontario Bird Records Committee. HAWK FLIGHTS: Two significant flights were observed along the coast during southwest winds on 15 and 16 August. Hawks were moving south along Longridge Point. Northern Harrier, 12 adults and juveniles on 15 August and 11 on 16th. Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 juveniles on 15 August and 1 juvenile on 16th. Northern Goshawk, 1 adult and 3 juveniles on 15 August. Broad-winged Hawk, 1 adult and 6 juveniles on 15 August; 15 on 16th, over half the birds seen well enough to age were juveniles. Red-tailed Hawk, 1 adult, 2 juveniles and 1 unaged bird on 16 August. Merlin, 13 on 16 August. Peregrine Falcon, 3 juveniles and 1 unaged bird on 16 August. BUTTERFLIES: One new species since last report is Hoary Comma on 15 August. DRAGONFLIES: Two new species since last report are Taiga Bluet and White-faced Meadowhawk on 15 August. ONTARIO SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLAN. www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/plans/pdf/plans-shorebird-e.pdf SNOW AND ICE COVER MAP shows James Bay reaching deep into central Canada. www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif MAP OF SOUTHERN JAMES BAY. Yellow pointer shows location of Longridge Point. Ontario borders the west coast of James Bay and Quebec borders the east coast. Provincial boundaries extend to the low water mark on James Bay. Offshore islands extending to the low water mark are in Nunavut Territory. The waters and seabed of James Bay are internal parts of Canada under exclusive federal jurisdiction and not part of Ontario, Quebec or Nunavut. www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg PHOTOS OF SHOREBIRDS AND SURVEYORS. www.jeaniron.ca/2010/JamesBay2010/index.htm Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway Toronto, Ontario Canada Subject: Re: banded Semipalmeted Sandpiper From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein <deweysage AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:05:59 -0700 Not strange at all Anthony, that is a standard US Fish and Wildlife Service band. The "open" means that if the bird was found dead, open the band up and on the inside is the address of where to send it. I've always thought this was a bit silly, as I do not think it is very clear that "open" means that, but that's the way it is done. If you take the number off the band, and go to the Bird Banding Lab webpage (search and you will quickly find it), there is a "report a band" link and they will get back to you with the info as to where the bird was originally banded. Hope that helps Cheers Dave Lauten Oregon Biodiversity Information Center deweysage AT verizon.net Anthony Levesque wrote: > Dear all, > > yesterday night we caught a banded Sandpiper in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) but we have no idea of its origin... > > on the (metal) band we can read "ABRE" "OPEN" and a number, a strange band... > > Is somebody can help us? it would be very much appreciated > > Best Regards > > Anthony Levesque > > > Subject: banded Semipalmeted Sandpiper From: Anthony Levesque <anthony.levesque AT WANADOO.FR> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:22:20 -0400 Dear all, yesterday night we caught a banded Sandpiper in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) but we have no idea of its origin... on the (metal) band we can read "ABRE" "OPEN" and a number, a strange band... Is somebody can help us? it would be very much appreciated Best Regards Anthony Levesque Subject: 31 shorebird spp. at 2 sites in South Carolina last Friday From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:02:33 -0700 I aborted a 'Shorebird Big Day' in coastal South Carolina this past Friday (August 13) but still managed to see 31 shorebird species by noon. I began the day at the eastern tip of Kiawah Island, where a Snowy Plover (local rarity) had been recently reported. The Snowy Plover was still present - I hope it will stay a bit. Other shorebirds at 'Sandy Point' were: Piping Plovers, Wilson's Plovers, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot (none flagged), Sanderling, Semipalmated + Western + Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers and Dunlin. (20 species) A similar but shorter list of species was across a small inlet on the beach in front of the 'Ocean Course' golf course. But the really neat shorebird spectacle at Kiawah yesterday was the driving range at the Ocean Course (southeastern corner of Kiawah). Despite a lack of standing water, it had good numbers and variety - even after 9am. 31 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, 1 UPLAND SANDPIPER, 1 White-rumped Sandpiper, all three regular 'Peep' species, a few dozen Semipalmated Plovers, and 22 Black-bellied Plovers. Two Ruddy Turnstones feeding on shortgrass turf was a funny sight - one was still in alternate plumage. 30+ Killdeer were the bully boys of the scene. 7 Spotted Sandpipers foraged and chased each other on the driving range turf at the far end from the golfers - right up against the shore of the small tidal cove beyond. ** If you ever get a chance to bird east Kiawah the morning after a rain during fall migration, start early at the Ocean Course driving range. You might see an amazing shorebird spectacle - puddles on the driving range draw them from all over. After Kiawah Island, I headed south to Bear Island Wildlife Management Area. Although most of the waterfowl impoundments (former ricefields) there were fully flooded, there was one that was partly lowered, with some mudflats and shorebird habitat. Friday those mudflats had dozens of Greater and a few Lesser Yellowlegs, a couple of dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, at least one Long-billed Dowitcher, 3 Stilt Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, lots of Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, unidentified 'Peeps', Black-necked Stilts, and Solitary Sandpiper. Elsewhere at Bear I had American Avocets and Wilson's Snipe and more of the shorebirds already mentioned. At this point I wish I had driven to a Sod Farm and picked up American Golden-Plover... I might try a big day run soon that consists of Friday's route, plus a couple of Sod Farms, then a race to Cape Romain NWR to use a boat to try to see the wintering Long-billed Curlews that arrived in late July (right on schedule). Nathan Dias - Charleston, South Carolina, USA Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #5 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:52:48 -0400 This is Jean Iron's fifth report by satellite phone for the period 7-13 August 2010 from Longridge Point, Ontario, on southern James Bay. The Red Knot and shorebird survey are led by Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum. Partners are the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Trent University and the Canadian Wildlife Service. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS: For most species only the high count day is given below in checklist order. Date for the first juveniles are noted. Black-bellied Plover: 163 molting adults on 9 August, some mostly in alternate plumage, others well molted to basic plumage. American Golden-Plover: 9 molting adults on 8 August. Semipalmated Plover: 237 mostly adults on 9 August, first juvenile on 8th. No banded birds. Killdeer: 39 on 9 August. Spotted Sandpiper: 1 juvenile on 10 August. Solitary Sandpiper: 2 juveniles on 9 August. Greater Yellowlegs: 130 on 9 August, 60 percent juveniles. Slow shift from adults to juveniles. Lesser Yellowlegs: 572 mostly juveniles on 9 August. Rapid shift from adults to juveniles. Whimbrel: 52 adults on 6 August with numbers dropping off. Hudsonian Godwit: 970 molting adults on 9 August. James Bay is the most important southbound staging area for Hudsonian Godwits. Marbled Godwit: 8 juveniles on 7 August and 7 on 9th. Small numbers breed on Akimiski Island and in the prairie-like marshes of southwestern James Bay. Ruddy Turnstone: 604 mostly adults on 10 August, first juvenile on 5th. RED KNOT: 1382 molting adults on 6 August, adult numbers dropped off with 178 on 7th increasing to 672 on 13th. First juvenile knot on 9 August, 8 on 13th. Sanderling: 36 molting adults on 13 August. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 4715 mostly juveniles on 10 August. Rapid shift from adults to juveniles. WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 adult was seen by Doug McRae. Least Sandpiper: 264 juveniles on 9 August, 1 adult on 13th. Rapid shift from adults to juveniles. White-rumped Sandpiper: 7541 molting adults on 10 August. Juveniles are late migrants. Baird's Sandpiper: 1 juvenile on 8 August was the first and another on 13th. Pectoral Sandpiper: 695 adults on 9 August, first juvenile on 8th. Dunlin: 127 mostly adults on 13 August, first juveniles (2) on 10th. Stilt Sandpiper: 2 molting adults on 9 August. Short-billed Dowitcher: 12 juveniles on 9 August. Rapid shift from adults to juveniles. Wilson's Snipe: 10 on 10 August. Wilson's Phalarope: 4 juveniles on 7 August and 6 juveniles on 8th. Small numbers breed in the prairie-like marshes of James Bay. Red-necked Phalarope: 8 on 7 August included 5 molting adults and 3 juveniles. OTHER BIRDS: This is not a complete list. Brant, 1, probably summered on James Bay. Canada Goose. Gadwall. American Wigeon. American Black Duck. Mallard. Northern Shoveler. Northern Pintail. Green-winged Teal. Greater Scaup. Lesser Scaup. Surf Scoter. White-winged Scoter. Black Scoter, 1042 mostly molting males on 10 August was only day with high numbers. Bufflehead. Common Goldeneye. Common Merganser. Red-breasted Merganser. Double-crested Cormorant. American Bittern, 2 on 10 and 11 August. Great Blue Heron. Bald Eagle. Northern Harrier. Merlin, family group of 2 adults and 3 juveniles hunting shorebirds. American Kestrel, 1 juvenile or female on 13 August. Yellow Rail, last heard actively ticking on 10 August. Little Gull, 1 that has almost completed its molt to second basic plumage. Bonaparte's Gull, 1647 molting adults on 9 August and only 10-12 juveniles, the low number of juveniles suggests that many are still on the breeding grounds or have migrated south. Common and Arctic Terns feeding juveniles with a ratio of 13 Common to 8 Arctic. Caspian Tern, 5 or 6 most days. Parasitic Jaeger, 2 light morph adults on 10 and 11 August. Long-eared Owl, 4 on 6 August were probably a family group. Short-eared Owl is seen regularly over the marshes. Common Nighthawk, 1 on 9 August. Black-backed Woodpecker, 1 on 13 August. Western Meadowlark, 1 probable on 8 August, photos taken which will be examined later. Le Conte's and Nelson's Sparrows, singing has dropped off noticeably to almost no song now. White-winged Crossbill, 49 on 9 August. Common Redpoll, 8 on 7 August. HUDSON BAY REPORT: The following report is from Ken Abraham of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. "The melt was very early this year. The phenology of goose nesting seems to have responded accordingly with a very early laying and hatch. Nest success in our study areas was below average because of very high predation rates. I wasn't in a position to get any evidence of duck or swan reproduction this year. We did not do a survey of molting scoters this year, so I have no explanation for the lack of scoters off Longridge Point. We've been speculating about possible differences in weather patterns, winds or water temperatures, but we don't have any data. I was on Southampton Island from July 20-30. I spent a week at East Bay and a few days in Coral Harbour doing vegetation surveys and trying to evaluate the role of geese in the changes that have occurred there in the last 30 years. All four species of geese (snows, cackling, brant and Ross's) seemed to have a good year with nest success in the 60-80% range for the first three and relatively early hatching; brood sizes ranged from 1-5 but seemed to average about 2. We had a couple of broods of Red Knots with half grown chicks at the beginning of that period. We also saw several broody White-rumped Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones. Those broods would probably have fledged sometime near the end of July or the first week of August. The King Eiders had broods, but the number of young in the creches seemed to be fairly low. We saw a few flocks of Whimbrels but according to the crew who had been there, they were the first of the summer so they may have been post breeding." MAMMALS: Beluga, 2 adults on 13 August, Mike McMurtry took a tissue sample from dead young Beluga for DNA and toxicology analyses. A melanistic Red Fox on 11 August. Few small mammals are being seen, but sightings of Northern Harriers, Short-eared and Long-eared Owls, suggest that voles and/or shrews are present in sufficient numbers or they're also eating birds. Red Squirrel. BUTTERFLIES: New species since the last report are Orange Sulphur, Pink-edged Sulphur, Palaeno Sulphur, Bog Copper and Summer Azure. Don Sutherland reports that butterfly diversity is low this summer, which he attributes to variable and wet weather. DRAGONFLIES: A sample: Cherry-faced Meadowhawk, Black Meadowhawk, Canada Darner, Sedge Darner. Southern James Bay map shows location of Longridge Point www.jeaniron.ca/2010/longridgemap.jpg Next report will be about 10 days when Jean is home. The crew was to fly out to Moosonee on 15 August, but the helicopter was delayed in Ungava. They are now expected to be picked up on the 17th depending on the weather. The next day they take the 5 hour train ride from Moosonee to Cochrane where they will overnight. Then on the third day it's a 10 hour drive to Toronto and Peterborough. Their trip reminds me of the 1987 comedy movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" starring Steve Martin and John Candy. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Canada Subject: poss. Common Ringed Plover From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein <deweysage AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:40:24 -0700 Folks, I have nothing to do with this, except I got this email today because someone knows I love shorebirds (and plovers in particular), and so I thought I would pass it along. Pretty good photos. "An interesting sighting for you shorebird types. Not sure if you saw this report (I'm not sure where the observer sent the photos for an opinion), but thought you would be interested. I'm working in Maine at the moment, so I check the Maine birding list every day. http://maineoutdoorjournal.mainetoday.com/blogentry.html?id=20547 Barry " Cheers Dave Lauten not in Maine, in Oregon....... deweysage AT verizon.net Subject: SNPL From: Patrick Leary <prleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 15:21:49 -0400 Members on the SE Atlantic coast should be alert for Snowy Plover. Over the (7-8 August) weekend, juv. SNPL have been sighted on the south river shore of Cumberland Island, GA and ca 15 miles to the south on Lt. Talbot Island, Duval Co., FL. The GA sighting (a lone juvenile) is just the third record for that state, while the sightings (two juveniles together) in NE Florida are less noteworthy save for the early August date. At least one adult SNPL has been recorded in Nassau Sound, Duval Co. every winter for the last 10. Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #4 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 19:16:48 -0400 This is Jean Iron's fourth report by satellite phone for the period 1-6 August 2010 from Longridge Point on the south coast of James Bay. Jean is a volunteer with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) surveying the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot and other shorebirds. The crew is led by Mark Peck (ROM) who is a Canadian member of the international team studying knots in the Americas. Other surveyors are Don Sutherland and Mike McMurtry of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Doug McRae (ROM volunteer), Lisa Pollock (Trent University/OMNR) and Ray Ford (writer). Ontario's coastline of James Bay measures about 560 kilometres or 350 miles. The coast is extremely flat and intersected by several large rivers and many streams. The southern coast is characterized by long narrow promontories such as Longridge Point, wide tidal flats, shoals, sandy bays, extensive brackish marshes and pools. Its importance to shorebirds has been compared to the upper Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS: 26 species to date. Three Peregrine Falcons observed chasing shorebirds on 6 August. It is unlikely that these are Tundra Peregrines (subspecies tundrius) which should be much farther north at this date. Usually only the high count day is given for each species in checklist order. Black-bellied Plover: 212 adults on 6 August. American Golden-Plover: 7 adults on 6 August. Semipalmated Plover: 213 adults on 5 August. Killdeer: 20 on 3 August were a mix of adults and juveniles. Greater Yellowlegs: 206 (1/2 juveniles) on 3 August. Lesser Yellowlegs: 434 mostly juveniles on 6 August. Solitary Sandpiper: 2 on 1 August. Spotted Sandpiper: 12 juveniles on 5 August. Whimbrel: 69 adults (not molting) on 5 August. Here is a link to a Whimbrel named Chinquapin that on 5 August was migrating south over James Bay. Allow a few seconds to download map. http://www.wildlifetracking.org/index.shtml?tag_id=84206&full=1&lang= Hudsonian Godwit: 839 molting adults on 6 August. Marbled Godwit: 1 Ruddy Turnstone: 656 adults and first juvenile on 5 August. RED KNOT: 2062 molting adults (no juveniles as of 6 August) on 2 August, 2000 on 3rd, 1200 on 6 July indicates about 40 percent departed between 3 and 6 August. Some flagged birds stayed 15 days. The migration strategy of southbound knots is to gather at a limited number of stopover sites such as southern James Bay where they fatten before migrating nonstop to the next stopover or wintering grounds. Sanderling: 56 molting adults on 6 August, some with considerable rusty. A green-flagged bird on the 6th was banded in New Jersey or Delaware, United States. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 3049 mostly adults on 6 August, very few juveniles to date. Least Sandpiper: 162 juveniles on 6 August. White-rumped Sandpiper: 7576 molting adults on 6 August. The most abundant shorebird. Pectoral Sandpiper: 1584 adults (not molting) on 6 August. Dunlin: 87 adults on 5 August not yet showing signs of molt. Short-billed Dowitcher: 15 juveniles on 6 August. Wilson's Snipe: 11 on 6 August. Flushed while walking. Wilson's Phalarope: 1 juvenile on 4 and 5 August. Red-necked Phalarope: 1 on 3 August, 2 on 4th, 1 adult on 6th. OTHER BIRDS: American White Pelican, 126 on 1 August. This pelican is expanding eastward as a breeder and only recently have numbers occurred on James Bay. Northern Harrier, 2 juveniles on 5 and 6 August. Northern Goshawk, 1 juvenile on 1 and 3 August, 1 adult on 6th. Merlin, 5 are now hunting shorebirds, likely the adults and juveniles of the local nesting pair. Yellow Rails heard daily. Little Gull, Don Sutherland on 2 August watched an adult feeding a begging juvenile suggesting nearby nesting, 2 juvenile Little Gulls on 3 August. The main breeding area of Little Gulls in North America is likely the Hudson Bay Lowlands between James Bay and Churchill, Manitoba. Bonaparte's Gull, both adults and juveniles noted, many adults are in wing molt. This suggests that an unknown number of adult Bonaparte's undergo prebasic molt in northern Ontario. There is usually an influx of adult Bonaparte's Gulls in November on the Niagara River associated with strong cold fronts. Perhaps some these birds come from northern stopover lakes with abundant minnows such as Lake Abitibi and Lake Nipissing. Adult Bonaparte's molt and stay in large numbers to freeze-up on Lake Simcoe in those years that minnows, particularly Emerald Shiners, are abundant. Arctic Tern, 1 juvenile on 6 August. Arctic Tern greatly outnumbers Common Tern on southern James Bay. 15 species of warblers near camp with many still feeding young recently out of the nest. Le Conte's and Nelson's Sparrows seen daily. White-winged Crossbill, seen and heard daily with high of 53 on 4 July, some are singing indicating probable nesting, good cone crop on spruce in area. Common Redpolls heard and seen regularly. MAMMALS: A Ringed or Harbor Seal was seen "hauled out" at the tip of Longridge Point. Caribou on 6 July. River Otter on 5 July. A young Snowshoe Hare frequenting camp hasn't been seen since loud screaming was heard one night - Great Horned Owl? Lynx? BUTTERFLIES: New species since the last report are Long Dash Skipper and Clouded Sulphur. Map shows the Canadian Arctic is mainly free of ice and snow. It also shows James Bay reaching deep into central Canada. http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif Photo of Longridge Point extending 7 km into James Bay www.jeaniron.ca/2010/Longridge-Point3791.jpg Acknowledgements: I thank Mark Cranford, Fletcher Smith and Alan Wormington for information. Jean will call again in a week and I'll post another update. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Canada Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #3 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 10:09:39 -0400 This is Jean Iron's third report by satellite phone on 1 August 2010 for the period 23 July to 1 August 2010 from Longridge Point on southern James Bay. Jean is a volunteer surveying Red Knots and other shorebirds under the direction of Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. On 31 July four more people arrived at camp and one there departed. Don Sutherland of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Mike McMurtry (OMNR), Doug McRae (ROM volunteer) and Ray Ford (writer) arrived and Christian Friis (Canadian Wildlife Service) left. Mark Peck, Lisa Pollock (Trent University/OMNR) and Jean Iron are staying until the survey ends about 15 August. Seven people are in camp. SHOREBIRD MIGRATION CHRONOLOGY: Most (not all) southbound shorebirds migrate in three waves: females first, males second, juveniles last. Females depart soon after the young hatch leaving the males to raise the young. The males depart about 2-3 weeks later when the juveniles have grown. Then juveniles migrate after the males. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS About 7000 shorebirds are currently in the Longridge Point area. There are no Peregrine Falcons to disrupt their feeding. Best day for high counts was 29 July after a storm. For most species only the high count day is given below in checklist order. Black-bellied Plover: 21 molting adults on 29 July. American Golden-Plover: 2 adults on 25 July. Semipalmated Plover: 97 on 29 July. Killdeer: 26 on 29 July. Spotted Sandpiper: 9 on 31 July. Greater Yellowlegs: 209 (1/2 juveniles) on 29 July. Lesser Yellowlegs: 437 mostly juveniles on 28 July. Whimbrel: 51 on 23 July. Hudsonian Godwit: 392 molting adults on 29 July. Marbled Godwit: None. Ruddy Turnstone: 415 adults on 29 July. RED KNOT: The high count of 1143 molting adults was on 29 July. The extensive tidal flats of southern James Bay are an important stopover area for knots. 120 marked individuals have been observed with several birds seen over a period of 12-14 days indicating a long stay. Mark Peck and shorebird researcher Lisa Pollock are sampling the foods eaten by the knots. They noted that the knots are plump and in excellent condition. These knots will likely fly nonstop to South America. Migrating knots that fail to gain adequate weight suffer reduced survival. Sanderling: 20 molting adults on 25 July. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 4338 mostly adults on 31 July, first juveniles (a few) on 30th. WESTERN SANDPIPER: 2 on 29 July seen by Mark Peck. Least Sandpiper: 126 mainly juveniles on 31 July. White-rumped Sandpiper: 2450 molting adults on 31 July. A few are still in almost full but heavily worn alternate plumage. Pectoral Sandpiper: 520 adults (not molting) on 29 July. Dunlin: 34 adults still in full worn alternate plumage on 26 July. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER: 1 on 25 July seen by Lisa Pollock. Short-billed Dowitcher: 2 juveniles on 24 July, 5 juveniles on 29th. Wilson's Snipe: 4 on 28 July. Wilson's Phalarope: 1 juvenile previously reported on 21 July, 1 adult (probable male with cinnamon on sides of neck) on 29th, 1 juvenile on 30th. A sparse population breeds at James Bay. Red-necked Phalarope: 1 molting adult on 29 July. SEA LEVEL RISE: Sea levels could rise one metre by 2100 and will continue rising. Ontario's low flat coastline of James Bay is extremely vulnerable. Rising sea levels will inundate or change vital shorebird habitats. OTHER SIGHTINGS Birds: Black Scoter, a few seen but not the big flocks of molting males seen last summer. Red-throated Loon. 92 American White Pelicans on 1 August. Yellow Rail, 6 ticking on 1 August. Osprey. Northern Harrier. Northern Goshawk on 1 August. Merlin. An adult Great Black-backed Gull is regular. Little Gull, 1 adult of 23 and 29 July was in wing molt. Bonaparte's Gull, 356 on 30 July with some adults in wing molt, first juveniles on 23 July. Bonaparte's and Little Gulls in wing molt suggest that some birds of these species undergo prebasic molt close to the breeding grounds. Arctic Terns seen daily including a pair feeding 3 young on 27 July. Common Tern, 2 on 31 July. Adult light morph Parasitic Jaeger on 29 July. Short-eared Owl observed doing a "food drop" to young in the grass. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher on 1 August. Rusty Blackbird. Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos. Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Cape May, Bay-breasted, and Blackpoll Warblers. Le Conte's and Nelson's Sparrows still singing, Nelson's nest with 4 young. 1 Purple Finch. White-winged Crossbills daily. Common Redpolls regular. Mammals: Black Bears are seen daily including a female with two cubs and a female with one cub. No problem bears around camp. A dead young Beluga (White Whale) washed up on shore. It could be the calf of the adult that washed up earlier. Young Snowshoe Hare around camp. Short-tailed Weasel regular at camp. Striped Skunks 2. Butterflies: New since the last report are Atlantis Fritillary and American Lady. FOREST FIRES: There are currently very few forest fires burning in Ontario's boreal forest and Hudson Bay Lowlands. Most fires north of the commercial timber zone are allowed to burn unless they threaten lives/property and First Nation (Cree) communities. Southern James Bay map shows location of Longridge Point www.jeaniron.ca/2010/longridgemap.jpg Jean will call again in a week and I'll post another update. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Canada Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #2 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:44:01 -0400 This is Jean Iron's second report on 23 July 2010 by satellite phone for the period 18-22 July from Longridge Point on the south coast of James Bay. The Royal Ontario Museum study of Red Knots and shorebirds is a cooperative effort with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and Trent University. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS The past several days have been mainly sunny with daytime high temperatures below average with cool nights. High tides have been weak so shorebirds were less concentrated for counting. Usually only high count day numbers for each species are listed below in checklist order. Black-bellied Plover: 2 adults on 20-21 July. Semipalmated Plover: 26 probable adults in flight on 22 July. Killdeer: 10 on 21 July. Late nest with 4 eggs hatched on 22 July. Greater Yellowlegs: 137 mostly adults on 19 July. Lesser Yellowlegs: 480 (1/3 juveniles) on 18 July. Whimbrel: 78 adults on 20 July. Hudsonian Godwit: 222 molting adults on 19 July. Adult Hudsonian Godwits molt body feathers before migrating from James Bay usually going nonstop to South America in late August and early September. Marbled Godwit: None seen. Ruddy Turnstone: 102 on 22 July appeared to be mostly females in worn alternate plumage. RED KNOT: Highest count to date of 638 molting adults on 20 July is half the number for same period in 2009. 69 flagged individuals observed include birds banded in the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The above include 7 birds marked before 2005. One with a data logger from Delaware Bay (USA) observed on 20-21 July. After breeding in the Canadian Arctic, rufa Red Knots migrate to stopover areas such as southern James Bay, where they fatten for the long flight to South America. Another rufa population winters in Florida. Florida knots are rare in James Bay. Longridge was chosen as the ROM's survey site because high numbers were recorded there in the past. A one-day estimate of 5000 at Longridge was made in the late 1970s before the decline. Sanderling: 22 fading and molting adults on 18 July. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1095 adults (no juveniles) on 22 July. Least Sandpiper: first juvenile on 17 July. 80 (1/2 juveniles) on 20 July. White-rumped Sandpiper: 109 molting adults on 22 July. Pectoral Sandpiper: 540 adults (not molting) on 20 July. Dunlin: 11 worn adults not yet in active molt on 22 July. Stilt Sandpiper: 2 molting adults on 21-22 July. Short-billed Dowitcher: 6 adults (not molting) on 19 July comprised 2 nominate subspecies griseus and 4 hendersoni. 8 on 21 July were mostly hendersoni. 1 nominate griseus on 22 July. Wilson's Snipe: 4 still winnowing on 19 July. WILSON'S PHALAROPE: One juvenile on 21 July found by Mark Peck and Lisa Pollock. It likely hatched locally because this phalarope breeds sparingly in the prairie-like marshes of James Bay. OTHER SIGHTINGS Birds: American White Pelican seen daily with high of 57 on 20 July. Sandhill Crane. Yellow Rail numbers are much lower than last summer possibly linked to drier marshes this year. Some Yellow Rails may have short-stopped to breed in the areas such as southern Manitoba, which is very wet this summer with many reports of singing Yellow Rails. Short-eared Owl, pair with two young. Gray Jay, pair with a blackish juvenile. Swainson's Thrush singing. Orange-crowned Warbler singing. Le Conte's Sparrow nest with eggs on 22 July. Nelson's Sparrow nest with eggs on 19 July. Small numbers of White-winged Crossbills and Common Redpolls seen most days. Mammals: A dead Beluga, 3 metres in length, washed up on shore. Crew hopes the carcass will attract scavengers such as Red Fox, Gray Wolf and Lynx whose tracks have been seen during surveys. Two Black Bears seen on 19 July. A Caribou on 19 July. A Short-tailed Weasel (Mustela erminea) is around camp. Butterflies: Two additions since last report: Skipper sp. (genus Polites) and Northern Crescent. Map link below of southern James Bay. Yellow pointer shows location of Longridge Point. Ontario borders the west coast of James Bay and Quebec borders the east coast. Provincial boundaries extend to the low water mark on James Bay. Offshore islands extending to the low water mark are part of Nunavut Territory. The waters and seabed of James Bay are internal parts of Canada under exclusive federal jurisdiction and not part of Ontario, Quebec or Nunavut. www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg Jean will call again in 4-6 days and I'll post her third report. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Canada Subject: James Bay Shorebirds, Ontario #1 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:13:01 -0400 This is today's report (18 July 2010) from Jean Iron via satellite phone for the period 14-17 July from Longridge Point on the southern coast of James Bay. James Bay is the southeastern extension of Hudson Bay reaching deep into eastern Canada south to about 51 degrees north latitude. The unspoiled broad tidal flats, wide coastal marshes and islands of James Bay are of hemispheric importance to southbound shorebirds and waterfowl migrating from the Canadian Arctic. Longridge Point is about 850 km or 530 miles north of Toronto with about one hour more daylight today than Toronto. Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) leads a crew of four surveying shorebirds with a particular focus on the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot. Others crew members are Christian Friis (Canadian Wildlife Service), Lisa Pollock (Trent University/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources), and Jean Iron (ROM volunteer). The ROM group is also surveying Yellow Rails and collecting data on frogs and toads. The crew arrived on 14 July and is staying until mid August so they will see adults and juveniles of many shorebirds, allowing rough estimates of breeding success. SHOREBIRD OBSERVATIONS Usually only the high count day for each species is recorded below. Recent weather has been wet and windy affecting observations. Black-bellied Plover: 1 adult on 17th. Greater Yellowlegs: 243 and 1 juvenile on 17th. Greaters nest nearby in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Lesser Yellowlegs: 375 adults on 16th, 3 juveniles on 17th. Lessers nest nearby in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Whimbrel: 21 adults on 17th. Hudsonian Godwit: 169 molting adults on 16th. These are migrants from farther north. Marbled Godwit: 18 adults on 16th. There is a small isolated population breeding on southern James Bay in Ontario, Akimiski Island in Nunavut, and Quebec. Ruddy Turnstone: 25 adults on 17th showing no signs of molt. RED KNOT: 725 molting and fading adults on 17th. 10 knots on 17th with leg flags included 2 from Argentina, 6 from Delaware Bay (USA) and 1 from Virginia or Florida. About 10% of the rufa subspecies is marked. Florida and South American wintering knots form two populations, which have different migration routes and breeding grounds. When the data on flagged birds are analyzed, we will know the approximate ages and ratio of males to females, which was determined at time of banding using molecular sexing techniques. Researchers in other locations of North and South America will re-sight some of these birds so we will learn more about the populations using James Bay and their migration routes. Sanderling: 10 molting and fading adults on 16th. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 600 slightly molting adults on 17th. Least Sandpiper: 15 adults on 16th showing no signs of molt. White-rumped Sandpiper: 7 molting adults on 17th. Adults should soon increase in numbers. Pectoral Sandpiper: 246 adults on 16th showing no signs of molt. Dunlin: 18 worn adults on 17th. Thousands of Dunlins stage in James Bay, where adults undergo a complete prebasic molt of body and flight feathers before resuming migration about mid September. Almost all juveniles undergo a partial molt of body feathers (not wings/tail) before migrating. This is why Dunlins are very rare south of the subarctic until much later than most shorebirds. Short-billed Dowitcher: 1 bright (extensive cinnamon below) adult of the hendersoni subspecies. This subspecies breeds mainly in muskegs and bogs/fens across the boreal forest from northern Manitoba to the southern Northwest Territories and northeastern British Columbia. Wilson's Snipe: 2 still winnowing. Shorebird Foods: Shorebirds in Hudson and James Bays feed on the abundant larvae of the bivalve Macoma balthica (clam), and in southern James Bay, the gastropod Hydrobia minuta (snail), as well as a variety of crustaceans (shrimps/crabs & relatives), worms and dipteran (fly) larvae (Ontario Shorebird Conservation Plan 2003). OTHER BIRD SIGHTINGS Birds: Gadwall, 2 on 16th; American White Pelican, 30 on 16th and 22 on 17th; Yellow Rail, 1 singing (tick-tick) regularly, they were commoner in 2009; Merlin nesting on ridge behind camp; Short-eared Owl, 2, Arctic Tern, 2 on 17th; 2; Boreal Chickadee, 2 near camp; Gray Jay, 3 near camp; Pine Grosbeak, 1 on 16th; Northern Waterthrush; Tennessee Warbler with young; Clay-colored Sparrow, 2 singing males included 1 on 16th and 1 on 17th, a thin population breeds in open willow and birch scrub adjacent James and Hudson Bays; Le Conte's Sparrow, 5 on 16th; Nelson's Sparrow, 10 on 16th; Fox Sparrow, singing; White-winged Crossbill, 65 on 15th. Mammals: 3 Belugas (White Whales) on 16th during high tide at Beluga Point east of camp. Polar Bears are not expected because they rare south of Akimiski Island. One close Black Bear was seen. Last year a Black Bear broke into the kitchen cabin, made a mess and ate a lot of food. This required someone to guard the food so that person wasn't available to survey shorebirds. This year a solar powered electric fence surrounds the food cabin. Vole and mouse numbers are low, which is similar to most other locations in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, except Akimiski Island where Meadow Voles are common. Amphibians: American Toads of the colourful Hudson Bay subspecies copei are abundant; Boreal Chorus Frogs are still singing, and Wood Frogs. Butterflies: Viceroy, Common Ringlet, White Admiral, Red Admiral, Fritillary sp. (Atlantis or Great Spangled), Sulphur sp., and Cabbage White. Recent wet weather hasn't been good for butterflies. The 16th was the best day when most of the above were seen. Southern James Bay Map Showing Position of Longridge Point www.jeaniron.ca/2010/longridgemap.jpg Aerial Photo of Longridge Point extending 7 km into James Bay www.jeaniron.ca/2010/Longridge-Point3791.jpg Literature Cited: ONTARIO SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLAN. 2003. Ross, K., and K. Abraham, R. Clay, B. Collins, J. Iron, R. James, D. McLachlin, R. Weeber. 48 pages. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada. Link to pdf below. www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/plans/pdf/plans-shorebird-e.pdf Acknowledgements: I thank Ken Abraham (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR)) and Don Sutherland (OMNR) for information. Jean will call every 4-6 days and I'll post updates over the next month. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Canada Subject: Shorebird Breeding Success in 2010 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:18:57 -0400 Reports from the Canadian Arctic indicate a generally much better breeding year for most shorebirds compared to the late snow melt and cold nesting season in 2009. Map shows the Canadian Arctic is mostly snow free and the sea ice in Hudson Bay is almost gone whereas ice remained well into August in 2009. www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif Counting juvenile shorebirds south of the breeding grounds will give an indication of breeding success in 2010, which is a good reason to learn how to distinguish the age classes. A crew led by Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum arrived at Longridge Point on southern James Bay on Wednesday, July 14. They are surveying migrating shorebirds with a particular focus on the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot. Jean Iron will file their first report soon. Acknowledgements: I thank Ken Abraham, Vicky Johnston, Guy Morrison, Erica Nol and Paul Smith for information. Ron Pittaway Minden, Ontario Subject: Shorebird Guide to Southern Ontario From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 08:28:08 -0400 With reports of southbound shorebirds, you may be interested in this guide on the Ontario Field Ornithologists website. It includes when and where to see shorebirds in southern Ontario, habitats, an annotated list of 37 shorebird species, a migration chart for adults and juveniles, information on aging, molts, calls, vagrants and ID quiz. See link. www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/southboundshorebirds.php Gone shorebirding, Jean Iron & Ron Pittaway Toronto & Minden ON Subject: Awesome news from Australia From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 22:44:13 +0200 Hi, Phil Straw and Ken Gosbell kindly summed up the record breeding event in Australia. Enjoy it. http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Tata, Hungary Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: Shorebird news from your area From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 22:01:22 +0200 Dear All, Sorry for cross-posting. WorldWaders is looking for news on shorebirds/waders from your area, county, state or country worth to share with the wader-loving world. Contributors of WorldWaders has been doing a very nice job with posting or reposting news items on shorebirds/waders and their conservation or their status. I encourage you to pass interesting news to our news blog. The non-profit WorldWaders Posterous (http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html) news blog is dedicated to shorebirds only. If you make your visit to our website you can see how varied the news items are. Should you live in Hawaii, California, Australia, Argentina or China, there is always a room for wader related news in WorldWaders Posterous. Please drop me a mail if you wish to be one of the contributor from your area and I add you. Meanwhile browsing the news blog don't forget to visit our website and consider being a part of our mapping projects (http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html). Happy birding, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders ____________ Tata, Hungary Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: Non-breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is online From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:14:51 +0200 Dear All, I am pleased to announce the availability of the second module of the Shorebird Mapping Project of WorldWaders. The first one, for nesting shorebird mapping, has been introduced a month ago and had a nice start. Now the Beta version of the Non-breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is online. We encourage everyone to have a try and use it on a regular basis. Lets us see where our loved group of birds move in large numbers to identify unidentified key sites for their better protection. Please login with your WorldWaders account and try it now: http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=ujmadar2 If you don't have an account it is better to make one now. WorldWaders has a very simple registration process. Just visit this link: http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=regisztracio We don't say this module is 100% perfect but we are on it to be. Should you find an error or bug, please let us know. Looking forward to hear your comments and feedback. :) Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Hungary Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: images of shorebird eggs and chicks From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 01:26:53 +0200 Dear All, For a forthcoming book on shorebirds we are looking for good quality images (for online use only) of eggs, nests and chicks (about a week old chicks). We have a specific website for this collection. This page (http://shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com/) is set to collect images of shorebird eggs and chicks to support a wildlife artist's, Szabolcs Kokay's job for painting the ID plates for the book. Images will be used for reference ONLY and will NEVER be published by us!!! Anyone can upload images species by species by posting an e-mail to mailto:post AT shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com with the image attachment only in the body of the e-mail. The subject of the mail should be the name of the species and the location (e.g. Red Knot, Alaska). No text is needed with the e-mail. Please consolidate eggs and chick images of the same species into one e-amil. Thanks for your help in advance. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Hungary Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: images of shorebird eggs and chicks From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 01:26:53 +0200 Dear All, For a forthcoming book on shorebirds we are looking for good quality images (for online use only) of eggs, nests and chicks (about a week old chicks). We have a specific website for this collection. This page (http://shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com/) is set to collect images of shorebird eggs and chicks to support a wildlife artist's, Szabolcs Kokay's job for painting the ID plates for the book. Images will be used for reference ONLY and will NEVER be published by us!!! Anyone can upload images species by species by posting an e-mail to mailto:post AT shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com with the image attachment only in the body of the e-mail. The subject of the mail should be the name of the species and the location (e.g. Red Knot, Alaska). No text is needed with the e-mail. Please consolidate eggs and chick images of the same species into one e-amil. Thanks for your help in advance. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Hungary Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: images of shorebird eggs and chicks From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 01:26:53 +0200 Dear All, For a forthcoming book on shorebirds we are looking for good quality images (for online use only) of eggs, nests and chicks (about a week old chicks). We have a specific website for this collection. This page (http://shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com/) is set to collect images of shorebird eggs and chicks to support a wildlife artist's, Szabolcs Kokay's job for painting the ID plates for the book. Images will be used for reference ONLY and will NEVER be published by us!!! Anyone can upload images species by species by posting an e-mail to mailto:post AT shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com with the image attachment only in the body of the e-mail. The subject of the mail should be the name of the species and the location (e.g. Red Knot, Alaska). No text is needed with the e-mail. Please consolidate eggs and chick images of the same species into one e-amil. Thanks for your help in advance. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Hungary Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: images of shorebird eggs and chicks From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 01:26:53 +0200 Dear All, For a forthcoming book on shorebirds we are looking for good quality images (for online use only) of eggs, nests and chicks (about a week old chicks). We have a specific website for this collection. This page (http://shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com/) is set to collect images of shorebird eggs and chicks to support a wildlife artist's, Szabolcs Kokay's job for painting the ID plates for the book. Images will be used for reference ONLY and will NEVER be published by us!!! Anyone can upload images species by species by posting an e-mail to mailto:post AT shorebirdeggsandchicks.posterous.com with the image attachment only in the body of the e-mail. The subject of the mail should be the name of the species and the location (e.g. Red Knot, Alaska). No text is needed with the e-mail. Please consolidate eggs and chick images of the same species into one e-amil. Thanks for your help in advance. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Hungary Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: WorldWaders News Blog From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:37:36 +0200 Dear All, A month ago I have introduced a new website on shorebirds which is now progressing well and getting to be known worldwide thanks to Facebook community and the various kind of mailing lists. The Breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is running well and field works in the Northern Hemisphere will be ending soon while a new one starting in the Southern part of the Globe. Now, I would like to hearten you to take a visit on our news blog to get awesome collection of news worldwide on shorebirds and all the related issues. The news blog is updated almost daily on weekdays and we hope we can keep this frequency all year round. Please make a visit to the site by following this link: http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html You can subscribe to it for being notified about updates. If you wish to support our initiative please make an easy registration on this page http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=regisztracio, then login and follow the New record submenu. More features will be introduced in the coming days. Looking forward to hear from many of you. Thanks for all those support who is already a part of the project. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: WorldWaders News Blog From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:37:36 +0200 Dear All, A month ago I have introduced a new website on shorebirds which is now progressing well and getting to be known worldwide thanks to Facebook community and the various kind of mailing lists. The Breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is running well and field works in the Northern Hemisphere will be ending soon while a new one starting in the Southern part of the Globe. Now, I would like to hearten you to take a visit on our news blog to get awesome collection of news worldwide on shorebirds and all the related issues. The news blog is updated almost daily on weekdays and we hope we can keep this frequency all year round. Please make a visit to the site by following this link: http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html You can subscribe to it for being notified about updates. If you wish to support our initiative please make an easy registration on this page http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=regisztracio, then login and follow the New record submenu. More features will be introduced in the coming days. Looking forward to hear from many of you. Thanks for all those support who is already a part of the project. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 Subject: WorldWaders News Blog From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:37:36 +0200 Dear All, A month ago I have introduced a new website on shorebirds which is now progressing well and getting to be known worldwide thanks to Facebook community and the various kind of mailing lists. The Breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is running well and field works in the Northern Hemisphere will be ending soon while a new one starting in the Southern part of the Globe. Now, I would like to hearten you to take a visit on our news blog to get awesome collection of news worldwide on shorebirds and all the related issues. The news blog is updated almost daily on weekdays and we hope we can keep this frequency all year round. Please make a visit to the site by following this link: http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html You can subscribe to it for being notified about updates. If you wish to support our initiative please make an easy registration on this page http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=regisztracio, then login and follow the New record submenu. More features will be introduced in the coming days. Looking forward to hear from many of you. Thanks for all those support who is already a part of the project. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: WorldWaders News Blog From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:37:36 +0200 Dear All, A month ago I have introduced a new website on shorebirds which is now progressing well and getting to be known worldwide thanks to Facebook community and the various kind of mailing lists. The Breeding Shorebird Mapping Project is running well and field works in the Northern Hemisphere will be ending soon while a new one starting in the Southern part of the Globe. Now, I would like to hearten you to take a visit on our news blog to get awesome collection of news worldwide on shorebirds and all the related issues. The news blog is updated almost daily on weekdays and we hope we can keep this frequency all year round. Please make a visit to the site by following this link: http://www.worldwaders.org/news.html You can subscribe to it for being notified about updates. If you wish to support our initiative please make an easy registration on this page http://www.worldwaders.org/index.php?modul=regisztracio, then login and follow the New record submenu. More features will be introduced in the coming days. Looking forward to hear from many of you. Thanks for all those support who is already a part of the project. Kind regards, Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi)/WorldWaders __________ Website: http://www.worldwaders.org Project enquiry: projects AT worldwaders.org Skype: worldwaders.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118733871495865 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: WorldWaders From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 17:52:40 +0200 Dear Friends and Future Friends, I am proud to announce the launch of the Breeding Shorebird Mapping Project at WorldWaders (http://www.worldwaders.org/). Should you have any question please find me by eMail, skype or on Facebook. Please help to reach as many birdwatchers as possible. Cheers, Szimi _______________ Gyorgy Szimuly Hungary skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/Szimi?ref=ts Subject: bog about shorebirds From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 12:55:09 +0200 Dear Shorebirders, It is my pleasure to announce the availability of our new, just released shorebird blog, the WorldWaders Posterous: http://worldwaders.posterous.com/. It is an open blog with many future contributors. We ask your help to improve it with shorebird related news, thoughts, project outcomes and new research findings. Anyone wish to post periodically to our blog should contact me. Please help to collect news from all around the world. Looking forward to hear from you soon. Kind regards, Szimi _______________ Gyorgy Szimuly skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html Subject: Fwd : shorebird mapping - seeking for help From: Cyril Schönbächler <troglodyte AT BLUEWIN.CH> Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:37:51 +0100 Hi to all, sorry for cross-posting, but this mail should be of interest for most of you Best wishes Cyril Geneva, Switzerland -------- Message original -------- Sujet : [WestPalBirds] shorebird mapping - seeking for help Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:57:24 +0100 De : Gyorgy Szimuly Pour : African Birding , Birdingperu AT yahoogroups.com, "WestPalBirds AT yahoogroups.com" Dear Friends, Sorry for cross posting. Can anyone help in this project testing? http://alturl.com/2von Cheers, Szimi _______________ Gyorgy Szimuly skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html Subject: shorebird mapping - seeking for help From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:07:24 +0100 Dear Friends, Sorry for cross posting. Can anyone help in this project? http://alturl.com/2von Cheers, Szimi _______________ Gyorgy Szimuly skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html Subject: Sony VAIO CS280J/R - Core 2 .. From: Schmitt Fabrice <fabrschmitt AT YAHOO.COM.AR> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:03:53 +0000 Dear friends:   Welcome to join our company' member club . Everybody here can enjoy our products' member price. All customers can browse through our company's home page---- www.ybwlok.com> for latest information . Our products (notebook PC,digital camera,plasma and LCD TV,digital DV,Motos,phones,Mp3/4,and so on) all have low price and high quality in order to attract more new customers to cooperate with us . Hope here is your shopping heaven! Please contact me via e-mail: ybwlok AT ybwlok.com  Recommended NEW UNLOCKED APPLE iPHONE 3G.. views:5195 NO.411001225441 Market:€ 248 EUR Payment: Live Chat Ship: EMS / AIR CARGO Member  € 240 EUR Sony VAIO CS280J/R - Core 2 .. views:5117 NO.411001225212 Market:€ 439 EUR Payment: Live Chat Ship: EMS / AIR CARGO Member  € 370 EUR Sony Playstation 3 PS3 80GB .. views:5085 NO.411001225007 Market:€ 202 EUR Payment: Live Chat Ship: EMS / AIR CARGO Member  € 192 EUR Yahoo! Cocina Encontra las mejores recetas con Yahoo! Cocina. http://ar.mujer.yahoo.com/cocina/ Subject: Re: Sand-plover in Virginia From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein <deweysage AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 13:08:22 -0700 I wondered the same thing............ Cheers Dave Lauten Bandon OR deweysage AT verizon.net David Hartgrove wrote: > Hi, > And just to remind everyone, there was a Greater Sand Plover seen > over the course of 4 or 5 days at Huegenot Park, near Jacksonville, FL > in May. Any chance this is the same bird? > > David Hartgrove > Daytona Beach, FL > > Subject: Re: Sand-plover in Virginia From: David Hartgrove <birdman9 AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 14:14:37 -0400 Hi, And just to remind everyone, there was a Greater Sand Plover seen over the course of 4 or 5 days at Huegenot Park, near Jacksonville, FL in May. Any chance this is the same bird? David Hartgrove Daytona Beach, FL Subject: Re: Sand-plover in Virginia From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 17:18:43 +0200 Looking at the images we have a feeling this is rather a Lesser Sand Plover. The shape of relative fine bill, the size compared to Semipalmated Plover and the Sandpiper would suggest this bird as a Lesser SP. There are tricky birds for sure where features overlap between Greater and Lesser Sand Plover but I would not exclude LSP possibility based on the images. Cheers, Szimi -------- Gyorgy Szimuly Tata, Hungary, Europe skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2009 21:20:58 -0400 From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: Sand-plover in Virginia Hi -- This has not been posted to Birdchat, but a Sand-plover -- which many are now considering a Greater, although the final verdict is not in -- was found yesterday and continued today until dark in Staunton, Virginia just off I-81. If it proves to be a Greater S-P. this would only be the 3rd US record. It is frequenting a farm pond behind a Day's Inn just off the interstate! Details, directions and links to photos can be seen on the VA-Birds list accessed through Jack Siler's web site at http://birdingonthe.net. Gail Mackiernan Silver Spring, MD BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html Subject: Sand-plover in Virginia From: Pete Myers <JPMyers AT AOL.COM> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 09:13:52 EDT A sand-plover, most likely greater, appeared in Virginia 2 days ago near Staunton, about 40 minutes west of Charlottesville (where I live). It was in a muddy pond behind this Day's Inn motel: Days Inn Business Place Hotel 273 Bells Ln # D Staunton, VA 24401-9013 Here's a link to images: http://www.birdsofvirginia.com/GalleryPages/Sandplover_Galary.html I saw it yesterday, along with a lot of other people. Debate still underway about whether it is a lesser or greater sand-plover. Some people heard its flight song (I didn't). Does anyone on this list know where there are online recordings of the two species? Best wishes, Pete Myers Subject: GIS Mapping Workshops in Georgia From: New Urban Research <nur AT URBAN-RESEARCH.INFO> Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 12:39:42 -0700 Hey Group, We're trying to get the word out regarding a couple of upcoming GIS mapping workshops in Atlanta. The workshops are geared toward beginners who would like to map demographic information for Georgia communities. Please pass this information onto anyone that may be interested. The workshops are great for Government Agencies, Public Health, Academic Institutions, Non-Profit Organizations, etc. Mapping Georgia Communities: An Introduction to GIS & Community Analysis Atlanta: November 12th and 13th, 2009* Classroom Resource Group Learning Center - One Glenlake Parkway, Suite 200 Atlanta , GA, 30328 *These are one-day workshops (8:30am - 4:30pm). Participants choose which day to attend. Audience: Beginners, anyone interested in mapping their community. This hands-on workshop focuses on teaching the fundamentals of using a Geographic Information System (GIS) for community analysis. Participants will learn to create thematic maps with Census data, Geocoding (Address mapping) and Spatial Queries. Other features of the workshop are learning to extract Census data and good map layout and design. For more information about the Georgia workshops, please visit www.urban-research.info Gina Clemmer New Urban Research, Inc. 877.241.6576 | www.urban-research.info Subject: Palm Beach Sod Farms Shorebirding From: Robert Wallace <chnuts AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:04:15 -0700 Subject: Palm Beach Sod Farms Shorebirding From: Roberto Torres Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:33:11 -0400 Angel and Mariel teamed with Trey and me this morning for a trip to the sod farms in western Palm Beach County. We met the group with the TAS trip at Holeyland/Rotenberger WMA in the morning, but knowing we would have to make it a short day went on our own in search of shorebirds ahead of the group. We were hoping to join them again later but car problems prevented that. Heading north on US-27 we stopped at the microwave tower south of Okeelanta and found the former sod fields overgrown and devoid of birds. A little farther north we found a flooded rice field across from King's Ranch that had some L. Yellowlegs and BN Snilts and a Wilson's Phalarope. (26Ëš 33, 47.44 N 80Ëš 42, 43.10 W) Nice to get this one on the first stop. Crossing to the King's Ranch side of US-27 (east) we found a sod field with about a dozen Upland Sandpipers. (26Ëš 33, 23.39 N 80Ëš 42, 12.33 W) We then headed north and took 827A to Belle Glade, finding no suitable fields along the way. Heading east on CR-880 we turned onto Browns Farm Rd at Six Mile Bend. We turned left onto the first bridge on Brown's Farm Rd. and found a couple of very large fields in excellent shorebird condition with nice variety and numbers. After checking the fields on either side of the dirt road leading away from Brown's Farm Rd, we took the levee that runs parallel a little further south to the next road left and found even better numbers and two more Wilson's Phalaropes.(26Ëš 37, 16.28 N 80Ëš 42, 31.60 W) Speaking to Andy Bankert on the phone, he told us about an American Golden Plover and two Buff-breasted Sandpipers he and David Simpson found at Roth Sod Rd. (Gladeview Rd) further east on CR-880. We quickly saw the Plover in the first sod fields to the right after turning onto Roth Sod (26Ëš 40, 32.27 N 80Ëš 29, 48.6 W), but dipped on the Buff-breasteds a couple of miles further south. A crane, tractor, and bulldozer were operating in the field where Andy and Dave found the Buff-breasteds. There was another Upland Sandpiper in the same area as the Golden Plover. Some species that seemed less numerous than other years were Pectoral and Samipalmated Sandpipers, and Gull-billed and Black Tern. I've included the Google Earth coordinates to some of the better birds. These fields are constantly changing depending on the farming operations, so their appearance on Google Earth will not be indicative of their current condition. Here's are total tally on shorebirds: Black-bellied Plover (6) American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover (20) Killdeer (~100) Black-necked Stilt (~300) American Avocet (2) Spotted Sandpiper (4) Greater Yellowlegs (50) Lesser Yellowlegs (~1,000+) Upland Sandpiper (13) Ruddy Turnstone (5) Semipalmated Sandpiper (3) Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper (500) Pectoral Sandpiper (60) Stilt Sandpiper (300) Short-billed Dowitcher (100) Long-billed Dowitcher (3) Dowitcher Sp. (500) Wilson's Phalarope (3) Other interesting species included Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Black Tern, Orchard Oriole, and Yellow warbler. Not a blowout trip, but a nice shorebird fix with a couple of really good birds. The TAS group stayed later and got a couple of species that we missed, so we could have gone over our goal of 20 species. Oh well, it was a fun day anyway. Cheers! Roberto Miami-Dade Subject: Great Knot in San Diego, CA USA From: Jay K <azure.jay AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:07:18 -0700 Shorebirders, A Great Knot was discovered today in, of all places, San Diego, California. It has been photographed and seen by many birders over the past few hours. It is the first record for California and one of a few from the west coast of the continental US. See details here: http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/SDCA.html Jay Keller, San Diego, CA Subject: OrnithoCalendar From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:41:08 +0200 Dear Shorebirders, Let me share a new feature of my blog. OrnithoCalendar is collecting major and local events from around the world related to birds & ornithology. If you wanna participate an ornithological congress, a conference, a workshop or a general meeting or looking for a bird festival this is the best place to look for one. The list is far not complete but I am doing my best to keep it updated and I will continuously add new events once I get new information. If you have one which is not listed in the calendar please share it with me. Drop an e-mail about the event and its website and I will add it to the calendar. Feel free to pass it your friends, local networks as well as to local organizations. That could help a lot. Two major shorebird related conference is included. I am looking for new dates as soon as they are available. The OrnithoCalendar already reached 5K+ bird lovers in the world!!! Regards, Szimi -------- Gyorgy Szimuly skype: szimistyle.com web: http://web.me.com/gyorgy.szimuly/SzimiStyles_Birding_Experience_EN/Blog/Blog.html Subject: Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend From: Andrew Cripps <andy AT BETHANY-FENWICK.ORG> Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:20:45 -0400 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 11, 2009 CONTACT: Andrew Cripps 302-539-2100 x14 BIRDERS TO FLOCK TO QUIET RESORTS BIRDING WEEKEND EVENT: Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend DATES/TIMES: Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18, 2009 PLACES: Locations throughout coastal Delaware, and in southern New Jersey and northern coastal Maryland ADMISSION: Cost of trips varies. A Weekend Package is available for $45 and includes discounts on trips, admission to the Friday evening reception with a guest presenter, and exclusive souvenir cap, and all park entry fees. DESCRIPTION: The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is three days of birding in beautiful natural habitats along the Atlantic migratory flyway. Choose from more than a dozen different birding experiences, each hosted by an experienced guide. The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is for birdwatchers of every skill level and experience. CONTACT: Visit the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce web site at www.TheQuietResorts.com or call 800-962-SURF (7873) toll-free for more information or online registration. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FENWICK ISLAND, DE - Birding enthusiasts will want to flock to the Bethany Beach/Fenwick Island area for the second annual Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend, October 16 through 18. The event, organized by the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce (BFACC) offers boat tours, paddling expeditions, and hiking treks throughout The Quiet Resorts and nearby areas. The field trips offer opportunities to sight indigenous birds and those on their fall migration. The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend enables participants to pick and choose among the many offerings customizing their own event experience. The trips are designed to please both novice and experienced birders, and all include experienced guides. Birders recorded 190 species during the spring event. "After a summer highlighted by the first-ever sighting in Delaware of a roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) here in Fenwick Island, there is increased excitement about this year's Birding Weekend, "said BFACC Executive Director Andrew Cripps. "Our position along the Atlantic migratory flyway ensures that Birding Weekend participants will see a spectacular variety of birds in beautiful natural habitats." The weekend kicks off on Friday morning, October 16, with the Poor Man's Pelagic on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, which takes you across the Delaware Bay to Higbee's Beach in Cape May to see migrating hawks, falcons and songbirds. On Friday evening, participants can flock together at a welcoming reception, and an entertaining discussion led by a prominent birding expert. On Saturday and Sunday, guests can paddle, cruise or hike with experienced guides into secluded habitats, some otherwise unavailable to the public, to see the colorful variety of shorebirds that rest in the area on their migration north, as well as terns, herons, egrets, owls, and perhaps some bald eagles. Trip destinations include Trap Pond and Holts Landing State Parks, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Assawoman Wildwlife Refuge, James Farm Ecological Preserve, Assateague Island National Seashore, Newport Farms (a private estate), Thompson Island near Rehoboth, and Savages Ditch in Delaware Seashore State Park. Registration brochures and registration through the chamber's online store are now available. For more information contact the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce at 302-539-2100 or visit www.TheQuietResorts.com. Presenting sponsor for the Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is ResortQuest. Supporting sponsors include the Holiday Inn Express Bethany Beach, and Lynch Printing. The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is funded in part by the Delaware Tourism Office. Additional sponsorships are available. For more information contact the BFACC at 302-539-2100. Subject: James Bay Report # 6 - photos From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 13:09:52 -0400 James Bay is a shorebirders paradise far from civilization and pollution. Now back at home in Toronto, I wish to be on the tidal flats of James Bay surveying shorebirds, so I'm dreaming about next summer on James Bay. Link has 5 pages of photos and 1 page of previous 5 reports. http://www.jeaniron.ca/Trips/JamesBay2009/index.htm I thank Ron Pittaway who introduced me to shorebirds. Jean Iron Toronto, Ontario Canada Subject: Belle Glade FL Agricultural fields From: Robert Wallace <chnuts AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 06:02:15 -0700 Greetings - I was able to swing through the Belle Glade ag fields on Sunday afternoon. This is a huge area (2000++ square miles!) of sugarcane production on the SE side of Lake Okeechobee, which also includes the King Ranch (same as in TX) sod fields that are periodically flooded as part of the production cycle to reduce nematodes. Since none of the federal or state wetlands in Florida (such as Lake Apopka Restoration Area near Orlando, which when it was farmed years ago was the best shorebird spot in FL) or the numerous NWRs are managed for shorebirds (they are flooded for winter ducks already), this ag area west of West Palm Beach is the best habitat for shorebird stopover in FL. With some luck, I was able to find a few flooded fields, one on US 27 across from the big tower south of South Bay, and several smaller ones east of Brown's Farm Rd -Hwy 827 ( http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=26.626897,-80.638275&spn=0.143941,0.299034&z=12 ). Several were almost dry, and they were plowing nearby, so the numbers were down, but species diversity was fairly good. Numbers given were approximated and a total for all the fields. Black-necked Stilt - 200 Black-bellied Plover - 100 Semipalmated Plover - 2 Killdeer - 200 Greater Yellowlegs - 20 Lesser Yellowlegs - 100 Stilt Sandpiper - 100 Short-billed Dowitcher - 10 Long-billed Dowitcher - 10 Ruddy Turnstone - 5 Pectoral Sandpiper - 2 Bairds Sandpiper - 1 (in field with lots of water, along east side of Browns Farm) Spotted Sandpiper - 1 Least Sandpiper - 500 Semipalmated Sandpiper - 200 Western Sandpiper - 100 Other species included Black, Least, Caspian and Gull-billed Terns, lots of waders, Wood Storks and 2 Spoonbills, and both Whistling Ducks. No grasspipers were at the King Ranch sod fields. Temperatures for August in the afternoon were only in the low 90s, almost refreshing with a good SE wind. This is an important shorebird area for Florida, and worthy of some promotion of the value of flooding to the migrant shorebirds. I would think the farmers would be very happy to gain positive PR for the recognition that they are helping wildlife with their crop rotation cycle. I hope the Feds and State managers will wake up and take similar actions - virtually every NWR in FL has water control systems, and could easily be managed in May and August for shorebirds. As it is, the farmers are doing more than the government, and their efforts are un-intentional! Bob Wallace Alachua FL Subject: James Bay Report # 5 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 11:34:13 -0400 The crew is home after spending 14 days surveying shorebirds. This report covers the period 27-29 July 2009 at Longridge Point, which is 60 km north of Moosonee on southern James Bay. Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) led the crew comprising Amy Whitear (ROM), Doug McRae, Don Shanahan, Gerry Binsfeld and Jean Iron. SHOREBIRDS: Only high count days are listed and all birds are adults except where noted. Additional information is included on the Red Knot because it was the focus of the study. Black-bellied Plover: 14 on 27 July. American Golden-Plover: 1 on 27 July. Semipalmated Plover: 96 on 27 July. Killdeer: 3 on 29 July. Spotted Sandpiper: 1 on 28 July. Greater Yellowlegs: 187 on 27 July. Lesser Yellowlegs: 525 on 27 July. Several juveniles on all three days. Whimbrel: 189 on 27 July. Hudsonian Godwit: 296 on 27 July. Marbled Godwit: 1000+ birds were counted on 22 July during an aerial survey of the south coast of Akimiski Island, Nunavut by Ken Ross (pers. comm.) and Guy Morrison of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). Ruddy Turnstone: 296 on 27 July. RED KNOT: 1100 on 27 July, 1060 on 28th and 750 on 29th. Habitat: sandy tidal flats interspersed with large and small rocks and pools. Counts: best times to count knots and check for leg flags were as the tide came in concentrating them; at high tide when they roosted for 1 to 2 hours on rocks and grassy areas above the water line; and again when they resumed feeding in freshly exposed wet sand and mud as the tide retreated. Knots used the rich food resources to fatten and undergo body molt. Mark Peck collected fecal samples on the mud to determine later what the knots are eating. Flags: about 150 individuals had leg flags with many repeat sightings over the entire period indicating long staying birds. When the data on flagged birds are analyzed, we will know the approximate ages and ratio of males to females, which was determined at time of banding using molecular sexing techniques. Researchers in other locations of North and South America will re-sight some of our birds so we will learn more about the populations using James Bay and their migration routes. Sanderling: 86 on 27 July. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1783 on 29 July. A bird flagged in New Jersey was observed. This species has declined very significantly in recent years. Possible causes include (1) the decline of Horseshoe Crabs in Delaware Bay in spring affecting fat reserves to continue migration and breed, (2) the spraying of wetlands in Suriname on the winter range, and (3) increased disturbance in recent years by introduced Peregrine Falcons (released anatum-types) in July and August at the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, which is reducing the length of stopover and the time needed to fatten for the long migration over the Atlantic to South America. The Tundra Peregrine Falcon (subspecies tundrius) is not a problem at the Bay of Fundy because it migrates from the Arctic in late September into October after the Semipalmateds have departed. Least Sandpiper: 127 on 27 July. A few juveniles on 28th and 29th. White-rumped Sandpiper: Numbers increased daily with a high of 822 on 29 July. Pectoral Sandpiper: 165 on 27 July. Dunlin: 23 on 29 July. Wilson's Snipe: 3 on 27 July. Snipe were still winnowing on 29 July. OTHER BIRDS: Location is Longridge except where noted: Aerial surveys on 26-28 July counted at least 10,000 molting Black Scoters (mainly males) in the Longridge area (Ken Ross, CWS). Yellow Rail, still clicking frequently both day and night. Sandhill Crane, pair with two juveniles on 29 July. Little Gull, 2 adults on 27 July. Bonaparte's Gulls, a high of 458 on 27 July included a few year old nonbreeders, but no juveniles. Arctic Tern, 1 on 27 July and 28th; terns at Longridge were mostly Commons. Great Horned Owl hooting on 26th. Long-eared Owl heard on 29th. Short-eared Owl seen on 28th. HENSLOW'S SPARROW singing on 27, 28 and 29 July in an extensive dry grass meadow dotted with short willow shrubs and wildflowers between the high tide line and tree edge. Savannah Sparrow, common. Le Conte's Sparrow, still singing. Nelson's Sparrow (subspecies alterus), still singing. Clay-colored Sparrow, 3 singing on 27 and 28 July and 1 on 29th. MAMMALS: 2 Belugas on 29 July. Striped Skunk on 27th. Small mammal numbers such as voles were low at Longridge. Yellow marker on map shows location of Longridge Point. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg A total of 109 bird species was recorded including 24 shorebird species for the 14 day period 16-29 July 2009. Next report will include a link to photos. Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway Toronto, Ontario, Canada Subject: American Golden Plover CP - Request for revieuw From: "Arne J. Lesterhuis" <arne_j_lesterhuis AT YAHOO.CO.UK> Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:39:11 +0000 --------- Español abajo -------- Dear Shorebird enthusiasts, We have just finished a draft of the American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica conservation plan, on behalf of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, and would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone willing to review the plan, primarily to check: - that it reflects the current state of knowledge of the species throughout its  entire range - that all principal threats and how they affect the plover populations, are included, and - whether the actions proposed seem reasonable. Ideally we'd like to complete the review by Friday 21 of August, so that a final version can be completed as early as possible in August. If you'd be interested in reviewing the plan, please contact me at Arne_j_lesterhuis AT yahoo.co. uk ------------ -------- Estimados entusiastas de Aves Playeras, Acabamos de terminar un borrador del plan de conservación hemisférico para Pluvialis dominica, en nombre del Red Hemisférica de Reservas de Aves Playeras, y nos agradecería mucho saber de alguien que estaría dispuesto a revisar el plan, sobre todo, para comprobar: - Que refleja el estado actual del conocimiento de la especie en toda su distribución - Que están contempladas todas las amenazas principales y cómo afectan a las poblaciones de Pluvialis dominica, - Si las acciones de conservación propuestas parecen razonables. Nos gustaría recibir comentarios hasta al viernes 21 de Agosto, a fin de que podemos completar una versión final lo más antes posible en Agosto. Si desea ayudar a revisar el plan, póngase en contacto conmigo en Arne_j_lesterhuis AT yahoo.co. ukSaludos!   Arne J. Lesterhuis Asunción, Paraguay Skyper: arne.lesterhuis     ********************************************************************** The Brights; illuminating and elevating the naturalistic worldview The Brights' Net is an international internet constituency of individuals who have a naturalistic worldview. You can visit the Brights homepage to learn more: http://www.the-brights.net   Subject: James Bay Report # 4 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:36:00 -0400 Report from Jean Iron on 27 July 2009 for the period 23-26 July from Longridge Point on southern James Bay. Jean called late this morning so a few of today's sightings are included in this report. Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) heads a group of six who are surveying migrating shorebirds. The focus of the study is the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot. The crews survey 15 km of coastline per day and have recorded 103 bird species to date. SHOREBIRDS: 24 species of shorebirds recorded to date. The high count day for the period is listed for each species except for Red Knot, which includes counts for all days. Numbers below represent adults. First juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs (3) was on 24 July and first juvenile Least Sandpiper (1) was on 26 July. Black-bellied Plover: 3 on 26 July. American Golden Plover: 1 on 26 July. Semipalmated Plover: 25 on 24 July. Killdeer: 2 on 26 July. Spotted Sandpiper: 2 on 25 July. Solitary Sandpiper: 3 on 25 July. Greater Yellowlegs: 183 on 24 July. Lesser Yellowlegs: 376 on 24 July including first juveniles (3). Whimbrel: 85 on 24 July. Hudsonian Godwit: 528 on 24 July. 2 on 23rd had flags from Chile. Marbled Godwit: 6 on 24 July. The wintering grounds of James Bay birds were unknown until recently. Researchers were surprised when birds fitted with satellite transmitters on Akimiski Island, Nunavut, in 2007 and 2008 went southwest to winter at the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Previously it was speculated that they wintered on the south Atlantic Coast of the United States, which is much closer to James Bay. Ruddy Turnstone: 151 on 26 July. Red Knot: 915 on 23 July, 704 on 24th, 1,035 on 25th, 1,055 on 26th. Many flagged knots are being re-sighted. One bird banded in Argentina was seen on 17 July and on 25th staying at least 9 days so far. Knots are fattening before departing on the next long flight. The helicopter survey of southern James Bay on 22 July by Guy Morrison and Ken Ross of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) found an estimated 2,000 Red Knots (fide Ken Abraham). Sanderling: 75 on 26 July. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 3792 on 24 July. Least Sandpiper: 69 on 24 July. First juvenile on 26th. White-rumped Sandpiper: 53 on 26 July. Pectoral Sandpiper: 266 on 24 July. Dunlin: 20 on 24 July. Stilt Sandpiper: 1 on 24 July. Short-billed Dowitcher: 11 on 24 July included a mixture subspecies both griseus and hendersoni subspecies and intergrades. Ontario is the main zone of intergradation between the two subspecies. Wilson's Snipe: 4 on 26 July. OTHER BIRDS: Not listed in checklist sequence. Best bird was a HENSLOW'S SPARROW this morning (27 July) found by Doug McRae, Mark Peck and Amy Whitear. This is the first record for northern Ontario. Nearby they saw a Clay-colored Sparrow. 3 juvenile Northern Shrikes this morning (27 July) found by Don Shanahan and Gerry Binsfeld. 2 adult Little Gulls on 23 July. A high of 2,200 Black Scoters, mostly molting males, on 25 July. Once female scoters start incubating the males depart to molting areas on saltwater. Also seen were 4 Surf and some White-winged Scoters. MAMMALS: 5 Belugas (White Whales) including a female and calf on 23 July, and 3 on 24th. A Short-tailed Weasel (Ermine) with small mammal in its mouth was at camp on 22 July and seen again on 26 July. AKIMISKI ISLAND: Guy Morrison and Ken Ross (CWS) doing aerial surveys late last week saw an estimated 50-70,000 peeps along the north coast of the island and a good number of Marbled Godwits on the south coast (fide Ken Abraham). HUDSON BAY REPORT: On 26 July I talked to Ken Abraham, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), who is in Peawanuck doing surveys in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Ken found an active Semipalmated Plover nest with four eggs on 25 July perhaps another indication of a late shorebird nesting season. Most Snow Geese along the Hudson Bay coast (10,000 on Pen Islands and 130,000 at Cape Henrietta Maria) either did not nest or had a poor nesting season because of the cold late spring and late snow melt. The adult breeders normally molt along the coast as their young grow. However, many adult Snow Geese have disappeared and Ken thinks that the failed breeders left to molt elsewhere. The small Snow Goose colony on Akimiski Island, Nunavut, in James Bay did much better than the Hudson Bay colonies. Ken had seen no duck broods as of 26 July. Next week Ken and Rod Brooks (OMNR) and Ken Ross (CWS) will be doing duck brood surveys as part of the international Sea Duck Joint Venture, which is addressing declines in sea ducks. Earlier surveys this summer found good numbers of paired Black Scoters and some Surf and White-winged Scoters on small lakes in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Ken did a complete survey of the Ontario's north coast (>1000 km) from southern James Bay to the Manitoba border on 12-14 July and he saw only one Polar Bear. However, many bears came ashore this past week following strong south winds that pushed ice well away from the coast. Map link shows ice conditions in James and Hudson Bays. http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif Yellow marker on map shows location of Longridge Point. The Province of Ontario extends to the high water mark on James Bay. The offshore islands, such as Akimiski, are in Nunavut Territory, whereas the waters and seabed are internal parts of Canada under federal jurisdiction. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Mark Peck is grateful to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for logistical support. He particularly thanks Ken Abraham, Rod Brooks and Sarah Hagey. Funding for the Red Knot Survey came from The Species at Risk Research Fund in Ontario, which is a partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and World Wildlife Fund Canada. Ron Pittaway Toronto/Minden Ontario, Canada Subject: James Bay Report # 3 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:59:59 -0400 This is Jean Iron's report via satellite phone today for the period 19-22 July 2009 from Longridge Point, which is 60 km north of Moosonee on southern James Bay. Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) heads a group six who are surveying shorebirds with a particular focus on the endangered rufa subspecies of the Red Knot. Longridge is an important site for knots with a one-day estimate of 5,000 in the late 1970s. Mark Peck (ROM) is a Canadian member of an international team studying knots. The ROM group is also studying Yellow Rails and they are helping other researchers collect data on Northern Harriers, Whimbrels, Black Terns, Short-eared Owls, frogs and toads. Funding for the ROM's Red Knot Surrey came from The Species at Risk Research Fund in Ontario, which is a partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and World Wildlife Fund Canada. CORRECTION to James Bay Report # 2. Under Red Knot and Curlew Sandpiper change prealternate molt to prebasic molt. Thanks to all who noticed my "senior moment". SHOREBIRDS The last several days have been sunny with temperatures well above normal. Mosquitoes are bad around the camp which is at the base of the point, but a sea breeze keeps them in check farther out on the long open peninsula. Moose Flies (genus Hybomitra) also called Horse Flies and Bulldogs are annoying at times. They peak in July. Food Habits: Shorebirds in Hudson and James Bays feed on "an abundance of the bivalve Macoma balthica, and in southern James Bay, the gastropod Hydrobia minuta, as well as a variety of other crustaceans, worms and dipteran larvae" (Ontario Shorebird Conservation Plan 2003). Adults and Juveniles: No juvenile shorebirds observed as of 22 July 2009 perhaps indicating a late start to nesting this year due to a cold spring and late snow melt. All birds mentioned below are adults. Some species are in various degrees of prebasic (postbreeding) molt and other species are not molting. Black-bellied Plover: Molting; 2 on 21 July. American Golden-Plover: Molting; 1 on 21 July. Semipalmated Plover: 5 on 19 July, 4/20, 17/21, 8/22. Killdeer: 2 on 19 July, 1/22. Greater Yellowlegs: Molting; 113 on 19 July, 177/20, 69/21, 314/22. Lesser Yellowlegs: Molting; 271 on 19 July, 511/20, 391/21, 463/22. Whimbrel: Not molting; 3 on 19 July, 78/20, 71/21, 136/22. Hudsonian Godwit: Molting; 102 on 19 July, 261/20, 338/21, 355/22. Marbled Godwit: 1 on 20 July, 1/21, 5/22. Ruddy Turnstone: Not molting; 15 on July 19 July, 13/20, 14/21, 60/22. Red Knot: Molting; 69 on 19 July, 742/20, 966/21, 975/22. Almost 1,000 knots were seen on two consecutive days. 90 birds had leg flags with one observed by Mark Peck that he banded in 2005 on the breeding grounds of Southampton Island, Nunavut. Yesterday (22 July) Guy Morrison and Ken Ross of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) surveyed southern James Bay by helicopter. They reported good numbers of Red Knots south of Longridge Point. See also related information under the heading AERIAL SURVEYS below. Sanderling: Molting and much faded; 65 on 19 July, 98/20, 22/21, 11/22. Semipalmated Sandpiper: Recent increase in numbers; 4,835 on 19 July, 1,869/20, 1,490/21, 872/22. This species has declined very significantly in recent years. Least Sandpiper: Not molting; 13 on 19 July, 35/20, 40/21, 20/22. White-rumped Sandpiper: Molting; 8 on 19 July, 19/20, 7/21, 7/22. Baird's Sandpiper: 1 on 20 July, 1 on 22 July. Pectoral Sandpiper: Not molting; 38 on 19 July, 34/20, 41/21, 151/22. Dunlin: Bright birds in worn alternate plumage with no sign of molting yet; 15 on 19 July, 2/20, 4/21, 2/22. Short-billed Dowitcher: 3 on 19 July, 2 on 20 July, 4 on 22 July. Many (most?) adult Short-billed Dowitchers in Eastern Canada fly directly from the breeding grounds to the Atlantic Coast (Maritime Provinces, New England States, New York and New Jersey, so only small numbers are usually seen on James Bay. Wilson's Snipe: 6 on 19 July, 2/18, 2/21, 4/22. Two tiny young 2-3 days old. AERIAL SURVEYS: Guy Morrison and Ken Ross (CWS) are surveying the west coast of James Bay this week for waterfowl (such as molting flocks of male Black Scoters) and shorebirds. They also will be surveying Akimiski Island, Nunavut this week. On 22 July (Tuesday) they surveyed Longridge Point. The ROM crew at the same time was "ground truthing" to compare results (species and numbers of shorebirds seen) between the air and ground surveyors. OTHER BIRDS: Trumpeter Swan (year-old bird with some brownish feathers) on 20 July, Yellow Rails, Eastern Kingbird on 22 July, Le Conte's Sparrows, Nelson's Sparrows, Tennessee Warbler (common), 1 Clay-colored Sparrow, Common Redpolls flying over every day. BEARS: Longridge Point is the ideal location to study shorebird migration because it is south of most summering Polar Bears, which are rare south of Akimiski Island. However, Black Bears are frequent at Longridge. This week a female with 3 cubs broke into camp while the surveyors were out during daylight. The bears made a mess eating camp food and left teeth marks in many things. The only item the bears ignored was the cans of Tim Hortons coffee. Guy Morrison and Ken Ross (CWS) brought in replacement food by helicopter, which was lost to the bears. The ROM's camp is at the base of the peninsula and it is 5.7 km to the tip. Now a person must watch the camp during the day because the bears will not leave the area. Two people have federal firearm licences to carry a rifle or shotgun, but no bears would be killed unless to protect human life. BUTTERFLIES: Recent warm sunny weather in the high 20s C brought out Arctic Blue, Common Ringlet, Northern Crescent, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Viceroy, and White Admiral (often on bear dung). Old World Swallowtails were seen on 16 and 17 July in Moosonee. GEOGRAPHY: James Bay is the southeastern extension of Hudson Bay between Ontario and Quebec reaching very deep into eastern Canada south to latitude 51 degrees, putting Moosonee slightly south of Calgary, Alberta. James Bay is one of the largest inland seas in the world. Ontario's approximately 560 km coastline of James Bay is extremely flat and intersected by several large rivers and numerous smaller streams. The southern coast is characterized by long narrow promontories, such as Longridge Point which projects 6 km into James Bay, wide sandy bays, extensive brackish marshes, wide intertidal flats, and shoals. Tides range from 1 to 3 m with occasional very high wind tides flooding the flat terrain. Inland from the coast is the immense boreal Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) comprising almost 25% of the province. The HBL extend into the adjacent provinces of Quebec and Manitoba making it one of the largest wetlands in the world. Map showing location of Longridge Point. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg ONTARIO SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLAN. 2003. Ross, K., and K. Abraham, R. Clay, B. Collins, J. Iron, R. James, D. McLachlin, R. Weeber. 48 pages. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada. Link to pdf below. http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/plans/pdf/plans-shorebird-e.pdf Next update in a few days. Ron Pittaway Minden and Toronto Ontario, Canada Subject: FW: Greater Flamingoes at Snake Bight and a Few Migrants From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:06:35 -0400 Pretty good shorebird numbers down in Everglades NP recently. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org _____ From: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History On Behalf Of Bryant Roberts Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 10:55 PM To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Flamingoes at Snake Bight and a Few Migrants A paddle around the north part of Snake Bight turned up two adult Greater Flamingoes this Sunday (7/19) east of the Snake Bight Road Boardwalk. They were visible from the water at the mouth of the creek that runs under the boardwalk but the view would have been obscured from the boardwalk. Here is a rough tally of the transient species seen at Snake Bight that afternoon. American White Pelican - 3 Greater Flamingo - 2 Black-necked Stilt - 60 American Avocet - 10 Black-bellied Plover - 20 Semipalmated Plover - 10 Wilson's Plover - 30 Short-billed Dowitcher - 300 Marbled Godwit - 200 Greater Yellowlegs - 10 Spotted Sandpiper - 5 Willet - 1,000 Ruddy Turnstone - 5 Semipalmated Sandpiper - 70 Western Sandpiper - 100 Least Sandpiper - 6 Royal Tern - 10 Forster's Tern - 5 Least Tern - 100 The only evidence of landbird migration were a couple of Purple Martins and several Barn Swallows flying southwards across Garden Cove at Key Largo on Saturday (7/18), a Black-and-white Warbler at Long Pine Key on Saturday (2/28) and a Northern Parula at Gumbo Limbo Trail on Monday (7/20). A surprising sighting was about thirty American White Pelicans flying north over the mainland side of Card Sound Road late this Monday (7/20) afternoon. Bryant Roberts Davie, FL To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: new wader books From: "Norman D.van Swelm" <Norman.vanswelm AT WXS.NL> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:43:00 +0200 Two interesting books on waders have appeared recently, a photographic guide by Richard Chandler: Shorebirds of the northern hemisphere (ISBN 978-1-408-10790-4) and the other on wader movements and population size: An Atlas of Wader populations in Africa and Western Eurasia (ISBN 78-90-5882-047-1). Both books treat the taxonomic status of the species mentioned at length but the Atlas fails in illustrating the various races it mentions, a missed chance indeed. Even the few photographs the Atlas does contain lack the date and place where they were taken and so are meaningless in a book like this. Chandler's book is much more professional and tries to illustrate as best as possible the various forms he describes and he does so with a wealth of great pictures. If you have the other great book The Shorebird Guide ( ISBN-13: 978-0-618-43294-3) and Chandler's Guide, no wader can escape unidentied, well almost ...! The Atlas' maps are certainly very informative and deserve to be published in a separate booklet without the massive load of the text. Both books mention the Dunlin race centralis from Taimyr, Russia but even Chandler has failed in finding a picture! So we offer you a chance to download a report which contains the first known pictures C.a.centralis i.e. those of the first documented C.a.centralis from The Netherlands!: http://www.radioactiverobins.com/snipes-waders/dunlin%20calidris%20alpina.htm Cheers, Norman Subject: James Bay Report # 2 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:36:15 -0400 Jean Iron called me on Saturday (18 July) evening by satellite phone from Longridge Point on southern James Bay. She is with a crew of six headed by Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) surveying migrating shorebirds, particularly Red Knots of the subspecies rufa, which is listed as endangered in Canada. Rufa has declined 70% during the last 15 years. Longridge was chosen as the ROM's survey site because significant numbers of Red Knots have been recorded there in the past. The extensive tidal flats and wide coastal marshes of southern James Bay provide abundant wetland habitats making it one of the most important shorebird staging areas in North America. Its importance has been compared to the upper Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. SHOREBIRDS: no migrant juvenile shorebirds recorded as of 18 July. Black-bellied Plover: 3 adults on 17 July and 2 on 18th. Semipalmated Plover: 4 adults on 17 July. Killdeer: 1 on 18 July. Spotted Sandpiper: 1 on 17 July. Solitary Sandpiper: 3 adults on 17 and 1 on 18th Greater Yellowlegs: 222 adults on 17 and 118 on 18th. Lesser Yellowlegs: 459 adults on 17 July and 306 on 18th. Whimbrel: 15 adults on 17 July and 11 on 18th. Hudsonian Godwit: 102 adults on 17 July and 104 on 18th. Marbled Godwit: 1 adult on 17 July. An isolated population of about 1500 Marbled Godwits breeds in James Bay in wide coastal marshes, which are very prairie-like. Ruddy Turnstone: 10 adults on 17 July and 12 on 18th. Red Knot: 200 adults of 17 July and 157 on 18th. Knots are in the beginning stages of prealternate molt. 25 colour marked knots were observed including birds banded in Delaware Bay, Florida, Argentina and Chile. Sanderling: 15 adults on 17 July and 61 on 18th. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 185 adults on 17 July and 207 on 18th. Numbers should increase soon. Least Sandpiper: 111 adults on 17 July and 31 on 18th. White-rumped Sandpiper: 1 molting adult on 17 July and 1 on 18th. Numbers should increase soon. Pectoral Sandpiper: 6 adults on 17 July and 17 on 18th. This species does not molt during fall migration. Dunlin: 1 adult on 17 July and 3 on 18th. Curlew Sandpiper: An adult male found by Doug McRae. It is bright individual beginning prealternate molt. Short-billed Dowitcher: 6 adults on 17 July and 3 on 18th. Most were of the nominate subspecies griseus, which nests mainly in northern Quebec, but some breed west to James Bay. Wilson's Snipe: 4 on 17 July and 2 on 18th. OTHER OBSERVATIONS Pacific Loon: 1 adult on 18 July found by Mark Peck. Black Guillemot: 1 adult on 18 July found by Mark Peck. Merlin: 2 around camp. Yellow Rail: many "clicking" in coastal sedge marsh. Gray Jay: 1 adult with 2 blackish juveniles in spruce forest south of camp. Juvenile Gray Jays differ so much from adults that they were once thought to be a separate species. Juveniles molt into adult-like plumage mainly in August. Le Conte's Sparrow: fairly common. This sparrow also breeds at many inland areas across northern Ontario. Nelson's Sparrow: common in extensive coastal grass/sedge wetlands. The breeding subspecies alterus is often called the James Bay Sparrow. It is the more frequent of the two subspecies (alterus and nominate nelsoni) seen in migration in southern Ontario. White-winged Crossbill: 156, these birds are on the move looking for maturing cone crops and probably will nest in late summer in northern Ontario if they find abundant spruce crops. Map link shows considerable ice in James and Hudson Bays. http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif Reference: Wilson, N.C. and D. McRae. 1993. Seasonal and Geographical Distribution of Birds for Selected Sites in Ontario's Hudson Bay Lowland. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 145 pages. Jean will call again in a few days and I'll post an update. Ron Pittaway Minden and Toronto Ontario, Canada Subject: satellite tracking From: Patrick Leary <prleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:16:36 -0400 Members: Jean Iron's message is timely. Many may wish to visit the Seaturtle.org website for maps and plots of satellite-tagged shorebirds. This May, four WHIM were banded in coastal VA and many will find their subsequent movements very interesting. One bird in particular is wandering all over the low arctic after flying to the mouth of the McKenzie River. Another flew north then quickly returned to the east coast. The odd behavior of both birds may be reflective of the unusual spring conditions this year. On the website, simply scroll down the left side column for the target species. Click on a specific bird to access its map, then click again for a larger scale map. In addition to the 4 WHIM, there are maps and plots for six MAGO banded in GA this past winter. The "stay-at-home" specimens probably represent juveniles. Of these, note the odd detour of one migrant through the Great Lakes before turning west for ND. Finally, a number of REKN were fitted with data-loggers this spring and if any are recaptured (for data retrieval)this fall, we may obtain valuable insight into this specie's movements. PR Leary, Fernandina Beach Subject: James Bay Report # 1 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:02:52 -0400 Jean Iron phoned me this morning from Moosonee before flying out to the James Bay coast. A crew headed by Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will be surveying migrating shorebirds with a particular focus on Red Knots. Jean is a volunteer with the ROM. The crew comprises Mark Peck, Amy Whitear, Gerry Binsfeld, Doug McRae, Don Shanahan and Jean Iron. This morning (16 July) they flew by helicopter to Longridge Point about 60 km north of Moosonee on the southwestern coast of James Bay. They are camping and surveying there until 3 August. See map link below. RECENT OBSERVATIONS Yellow Rail: ROM crews from 1 - 11 July found 300+ birds including 5 seen in sedge marshes at 5 survey sites along coast between the Quebec border to Attawapiskat. Shorebird Migration: only small numbers of southbound adults reported to date possibly due to a delayed onset of nesting because of below normal temperatures in May and June and a late snow melt. Numbers of adults expected to increase soon. Juveniles to follow in August. Hudsonian Godwit: 60 adults along coast south of Attawapiskat on 15 July fide Stacy Gan et al. Marbled Godwit: One in early July in vast graminoid peatland 10+ km inland from Hannah Bay by Don Sutherland et al. 20 adults along coast south of Attawapiskat on 15 July fide Stacy Gan et al. A small isolated population of about 1500 Marbled Godwits breeds in James Bay where the wide coastal marshes are very prairie-like. Little Gull: Five adults, some performing courtship flight displays, in coastal fen southeast of Moosonee by Don Sutherland et al. Most Little Gulls in North America probably breed in the Hudson Bay Lowlands between Moosonee and Churchill, Manitoba. Map link below of southern James Bay. Note yellow marker showing location of Longridge Point where the ROM group is camped. Ontario borders the west coast of James Bay and Quebec borders the east coast. However, the provincial boundaries extend only to the high water marks on James Bay. Offshore islands are in Nunavut Territory whereas the waters and seabed of James Bay are under federal jurisdiction. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2009/James-Bay-2009-REKN.jpg Jean will be calling me by satellite phone from Longridge and I'll post several updates over the next three weeks. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Mark Peck of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and Don Sutherland and Stacy Gan of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). Thanks also to the other ROM and OMNR crew members (sorry if your names were omitted) who surveyed Yellow Rails and Species At Risk in early July. Ron Pittaway Minden and Toronto Ontario, Canada Subject: Arctic Breeding Conditions in 2009 From: Jean Iron <jeaniron AT SYMPATICO.CA> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:52:55 -0400 Yesterday we saw an adult Lesser Yellowlegs near Toronto and on Wednesday there was an adult Least Sandpiper in Hamilton at the west end of Lake Ontario. These are the first "fall migrant" shorebirds in southern Ontario and they are right on schedule. Several people asked us to comment about recent reports of a "Disastrous breeding season in the Arctic". The Arctic is huge; it is 3500 km from southern James Bay (subarctic) to northern Ellesmere Island. Most shorebirds have large breeding ranges and even in late years many birds breed successfully and rarely does the entire Arctic experience the same climatic conditions. We checked with northern researchers and summarized their comments below. Shorebird nesting in 2009 is poor in some regions but normal to good elsewhere. Ontario: Ken Abraham reports that conditions in the Hudson Bay Lowlands were about 10 days late from Attawapiskat south on James Bay, including Akimiski Island, with Canada Geese and Snow Geese hatching in mid June, more like the 1990s average than the 2000s average and within the overall norms. Other species on Akimiski Island were correspondingly late. His guess is that for those species that require shorter time there will be some reduction but not huge. Perhaps the predation effect will be somewhat greater if alternate species are less available. Because coastal snow, ice and water inundation conditions were similar from Cape Henrietta Maria to the Manitoba border, Ken expects that for Canada Geese nesting within 40 - 60 km from the coast, a much reduced effort and productivity will be the norm. Snow Geese at Cape Henrietta Maria were greatly down and the suggestion of a 90% reduction seems to fit what they saw on their survey. However, beyond 40 - 60 km inland, he thinks conditions will be different. Mark Peck said that species nesting away from the Hudson Bay Coast in boreal bogs and fens such as yellowlegs should not be severely impacted because much of the freeze took place near the coast. Manitoba: The situation is worse in northern Manitoba at Churchill where temperatures were well below normal until recently and the snow cover melted late. However, Erica Nol reports that birds have started to nest, just very late, and it won't be a complete bust for shorebirds if there are enough bare spots. Whimbrels and Hudsonian Godwits are nesting, but overall nesting success should be below average for most shorebirds in northern Manitoba. Nunavut: Snow melt was up to three weeks late in mainland Nunavut north of Manitoba. Recent temperatures have been close to normal. Much of Baffin Island is now snow free and conditions there and on Bylot Island are about normal. High Arctic breeders should have a good breeding year. Northwest Territories: Vicky Johnston suspects it will be a poor breeding year in parts of the Western Arctic. Spring was roughly three weeks late in Yellowknife on Great Slave Lake based on leaf-out. The Mackenzie Valley and Delta warmed early but then cooled off again. The Delta flooded slowly and the water receded slowly, so some prime shorebird breeding areas were subject to heavy predation. Yukon: Cameron Eckert reports a late spring, but once the heat came, everything shifted into high gear. Alaska: Declan Troy reports from the North Slope that the snow on the tundra is long gone. It was much warmer earlier in the month and his guess is that the breeding season has been early there. We will be recording the arrivals and numbers of adult and juvenile shorebirds in southern Ontario and may post updates. Acknowledgements: We thank Ken Abraham, Bruce Di Labio, Cameron Eckert, Michel Gosselin, Vicky Johnston, Erica Nol, Mark Peck, Ken Ross, Don Sutherland, and Declan Troy. Ron Pittaway and Jean Iron Toronto, Ontario Subject: Eastern Arctic Chill From: Patrick Leary <prleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:02:22 -0400 Members: We were copied a news report out of Winnipeg indicating unusually cold conditions and snow cover across the eastern arctic, including Hudson Bay. Apparently, the spring tourist season at Churchill went bust this year. Such late spring temps. and snow cover had not been experienced since the 1960's. These conditions were predicted to have dire consequences for breeding waterfowl and shorebirds throughout the region. Question: Are any shorebird researchers active on Akimiski Island this spring and can they report what they are witnessing there? Ditto for those working around Churchill. Thanks, PR Leary Subject: FW: Greater Sand-Plover 2009-05-26 -- Maybe??? From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 21:36:33 -0400 FYI Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org _____ From: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History [mailto:BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Bill Pranty Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:27 PM To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover 2009-05-26 -- Maybe ... and a Horned Lizarrd Good evening all, I stopped by Huguenot Memorial Park on my way to Fort Clinch State Park this afternoon. I arrived around 1430 and departed 2 hours later. The bird was not seen by anybody (there were 12-15 people looking) during that time, nor was it seen from 0800 to past 1100. The only potential sighting was around noon. I spoke with a fellow birder from Pittsburgh who had been there all day and he said that a woman (he didn't get her name but she had seen the bird before, so she's probably local) claimed that she saw the GSPL for about two minutes in the usual spot but then it "flew north." Neither of us knew exactly what that meant. An Arctic Tern was also reported in the same spot but was gone once the tide started dropping after noon. I found three adult male Painted Buntings in the park (none banded), including one just southwest of the restrooms/Sharky's shack that Brian Ahern found more than a week ago. Finally, as I was exiting the park, I was stunned to see a Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma spp) sunning in the road. It had a very thick tail and backwards-facing spikes on its head. By the time I found an unflooded spot to park, the lizard had run into the dunes, so no photos. Huguenot Park seems a strange place for this exotic, but it was located between the picnic area and the campground, so somebody must have lost their pet ... Best regards, Bill Pranty Bayonet Point, Florida _____ HotmailR goes with you. Get it on your BlackBerry or iPhone. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Fw: [FLARBA] 5/25/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 00:47:53 +0000 Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Margie Wilkinson Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 20:18:44 To: Subject: [FLARBA] 5/25/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County 5/25/09--Breeding plumage Greater Sand-Plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Observers: m.ob. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A), just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME pg. 58) Sand-Plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Once past the entry gate, follow the main road along the St. John's River until it crosses over to the bayside beyond the campground. Once you access the bay shore, TURN LEFT, pass through the row of pilings and park on the Family Beach above the high tide line. Secure your vehicle then hike east along the boundary fence as it traces the shoreline east then north along the bay's east side. After a 5-8 minute walk, you will sight a small patch of cord grass high on the tide / wash flats to your left. Please stay behind barriers and park in designated places. Fees: $1.00/person before 10:00 a.m., $3.00/car after 10. Park open 8AM-8PM. Low tide best for viewing. ***************************************************************************************** Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: Fw: [FLARBA] 5/23/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 17:03:24 +0000 FYI Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Margie Wilkinson Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 12:45:18 To: Subject: [FLARBA] 5/23/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County 5/23/09--Breeding plumage Greater Sand-Plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Observers: m.ob. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A), just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME pg. 58) Sand-Plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Once past the entry gate, follow the main road along the St. John's River until it crosses over to the bayside beyond the campground. Once you access the bay shore, TURN LEFT, pass through the row of pilings and park on the Family Beach above the high tide line. Secure your vehicle then hike east along the boundary fence as it traces the shoreline east then north along the bay's east side. After a 5-8 minute walk, you will sight a small patch of cord grass high on the tide / wash flats to your left. Please stay behind barriers and park in designated places. Fees: $1.00/person before 10:00 a.m., $3.00/car after 10. Park open 8AM-8PM. Leach's Storm-Petrel also seen close on oceanside. ***************************************************************************************** Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: Fwd: Greater Sand-plover, White-rumps, Red Knot From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 22:14:33 -0400 FYI Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org -----Original Message----- From: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History [mailto:BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Margie Wilkinson Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:36 PM To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [BRDBRAIN] [Fwd: [FLBIRDS] Greater Sand-plover, White-rumps, Red Knot] BirdBrains, Many thanks to Doris and Patrick Leary for the frequent updates on the plover and park conditions. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [FLBIRDS] Greater Sand-plover, White-rumps, Red Knot Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 15:34:36 -0400 From: Patrick Leary Reply-To: Patrick Leary To: FLORIDABIRDS-L AT LISTS.UFL.EDU Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval Co. - Indeed the Greater Sand-plover survived the gale and was frequenting a wash flat near the SE corner of the park's inner basin this morning. We stopped briefly to verify the bird and departed to complete a Red knot survey. A note of caution for all planning a trip to HMP for the weekend: Starting tomorrow and continuing through the Memorial Weekend, the park will host a multitude of visitors with HUGE CROWDS on Sat. Sun. and Mon. For optimum viewing opportunities, plan to arrive early and depart around noon to avoid the mobs and traffic congestion. The park was hit hard by the gale with some damage to the entry road, but the inner basin shoreline seems passable. Per prior messages, please comply with all regulations and PARK IN DESIGNATED AREAS. The plover is now closer to the Family Beach near the bay access then the distant parking area at the far north end of the bay side barrier. Still present in Ft. George Inlet at the north end of HMP are ca 800 Red knot that were denied access to foraging habitats for several days due to the storm surge and suppressed ebb tides. While surveying knots on the south end of Lt. Talbot on the north side of the inlet, we noted three White-rumped Sandpipers. I suspect there are many more present in the area due to the gale. Doris and Patrick Leary, Fernandina Beach ------------------------------------------------ Margie Wilkinson St. Pete To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand Plover. Yes. Baird's Sandpiper. Huguenot Park From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 18:37:46 +0000 FYI Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Michael Brothers Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 13:50:32 To: Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand Plover. Yes. Baird's Sandpiper. Huguenot Park I just received this email from Roberto Torres who asked me to post this for Alex Harper. —----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got a call from Alex Harper who relocated the Sand Plover around noon. He also found a Baird’s Sandpiper. I can’t post to Birdbrains or RBA from where I’m at, so please pass this along if you can. Thanks, (Roberto Torres) —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Michael Brothers Marine Science Center Ponce Inlet To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: [Fwd: Huguenot Park conditions] From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 14:25:15 +0000 FYI Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Margie Wilkinson Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 09:32:09 To: Subject: [BRDBRAIN] [Fwd: [FLBIRDS] Huguenot Park conditions] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [FLBIRDS] Huguenot Park conditions Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 08:51:43 -0400 From: Patrick Leary Reply-To: Patrick Leary To: FLORIDABIRDS-L AT LISTS.UFL.EDU Members: Please spread the word that NE Florida and Huguenot Park are currently experiencing extreme weather conditions with high winds, rain and storm surges along the coast. Huguenot Park MAY BE CLOSED upon arrival or conditions in the park may be highly adverse to access tidal habitats (shorelines flooded). When last reported, the Greater Sand-plover may have sought refuge in INACCESSIBLE habitats in the park. We received one extremely troubling report suggesting that sometime yesterday afternoon a visitor intruded into protected habitats pursuing the plover. Under NO circumstances is such behavior condoned or permitted. Any such behavior seriously threatens all the good will and positive feedback resulting from the responsible behavior of those visiting previously. For members associated with the ARBA, please post this message there ASAP. The extreme weather conditions are predicted to ease Thursday when local birders will verify the plover's continued presence. Until then, all potential visitors would be well advised to delay or forego plans to travel here for views of the plover. Thank you, Patrick Leary, Fernandina Beach ____________________________________________________________________________ FLORIDABIRDS-L Listserv mailing list information: Member photos I: http://bkpass.tripod.com/floridabirds.htm For archives: http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/floridabirds-l.html To set nomail: listserv AT lists.ufl.edu Message: set floridabirds-l nomail To reset mail: listserv AT lists.ufl.edu Message: set floridabirds-l mail To unsubscribe: listserv AT lists.ufl.edu Message: unsub floridabirds-l Jack Dozier memorial: http://tinyurl.com/6adm2m To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.325 / Virus Database: 270.12.33/2120 - Release Date: 05/18/09 06:28:00 To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Datos de Phalaropus tricolor From: "Arne J. Lesterhuis" <arne_j_lesterhuis AT YAHOO.CO.UK> Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 19:26:18 +0000 Estimados Todos,       (English below)   Estoy ayudando el Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences a desarollar el plan de conservación de Phalaropus tricolor para todo su rango de distribución.   Dicho plan intenta ser una herramienta de conservación que guíe las acciones futuras, y para tal fin es necesario identificar aquellos sitios de importancia para la especie hoy en día, para lo cual estoy compilando al máximo la información disponible.   Necesito contar con los siguientes datos (preferiblemente desde el año 90 a la fecha):   1) Sitio de observación y ubicación del mismo (coordenadas preferiblemente) 2) Fecha 3) Número de individuos (así sea aproximado) 4) Hábitat 5) Amenazas? De existir indicar cuales son. 6) Fuente (De aplicar: nombre y correo electrónico del observador)   Los registros que recibo y que sean compilados en el plan de conservación serán acreditados a los autores y agradecidos según corresponda.   Quedo muy agradecido y atento a cualquier duda.   Arne -------------------- English:   Dear All,   I am helping Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences to develop a Conservation Plan for Wilson´s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor for its complete range.   The plan is intended to be used as a conservation tool to guide future actions, and as such it is important to identify key areas for the species. Consequently, I try to compile all available information on the species.   I am looking for the following information for records of the species, primarily from 1990 onwards:   1)       Locality and coordinates (where available) 2)       Date 3)       Number of individuals 4)       Habitat type 5)       Threats? Please specify if there are any. 6)       Source (name and e-mail of observer)    All records received will be included within the plan and will be accredited accordingly.   Many thanks in advance for your help   Arne Lesterhuis   Arne J. Lesterhuis Asunción, Paraguay Skyper: arne.lesterhuis   Subject: Fw: [FLARBA] 5/18/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 19:18:08 +0000 Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Christian Newton Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 14:33:13 To: Subject: [FLARBA] 5/18/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County 5/14-5/18/09--Breeding Plumage Greater Sand-Plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Observers: m.ob. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A), just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME pg. 58) Sand-Plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Once past the entry gate, follow the main road along the St. John's River until it crosses over to the bayside beyond the campground. Once you access the bay shore, TURN LEFT, pass through the row of pilings and park on the Family Beach above the high tide line. Secure your vehicle then hike east along the boundary fence as it traces the shoreline east then north along the bay's east side. After a 5-8 minute walk, you will sight a small patch of cord grass high on the tide / wash flats to your left. Please stay behind barriers and park in designated places. Fees: $1.00/person before 10:00 a.m., $3.00/car after 10. Park open 8AM-8PM. Incidents are being reported of photographers/birders approaching the bird ahead of the birding group and forcing it further back on the flats. Please observe the obvious consideration for others and for the welfare of the bird. ***************************************************************************************** Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: Fw: [FLARBA] 5/17/09--Greater Sand-Plover, Duval County From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 15:01:20 +0000 Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Margie Wilkinson Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 10:31:46 To: Subject: [FLARBA] 5/17/09--Greater Sand-Plover, Duval County 5/17/09--Breeding Plumage Greater Sand-Plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Observers: m.ob. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A), just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME pg. 58) Sand-Plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Once past the entry gate, follow the main road along the St. John's River until it crosses over to the bayside beyond the campground. Once you access the bay shore, TURN LEFT, pass through the row of pilings and park on the Family Beach above the high tide line. Secure your vehicle then hike east along the boundary fence as it traces the shoreline east then north along the bay's east side. After a 5-8 minute walk, you will sight a small patch of cord grass high on the tide / wash flats to your left. Please stay behind barriers and park in designated places. Fees: $1.00/person before 10:00 a.m., $3.00/car after 10. Park open 8AM-8PM. Incidents are being reported of photographers/birders approaching the bird ahead of the birding group and forcing it further back on the flats. Please observe the obvious consideration for others and for the welfare of the bird. ***************************************************************************************** Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: Greater Sand-Plover (continues) 5/16/09--Duval County, FL From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 16 May 2009 15:20:23 -0400 Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org -----Original Message----- From: Florida Rare Bird Alert [mailto:FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Margie Wilkinson Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 8:11 AM To: FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [FLARBA] 5/16/09--Greater Sand-Plover (continues), Duval County 5/16/09--Breeding Plumage Greater Sand-Plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Observers: m.ob. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A), just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME pg. 58) Sand-Plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Once past the entry gate, follow the main road along the St. John's River until it crosses over to the bayside beyond the campground. Once you access the bay shore, TURN LEFT, pass through the row of pilings and park on the Family Beach above the high tide line. Secure your vehicle then hike east along the boundary fence as it traces the shoreline east then north along the bay's east side. After a 5-8 minute walk, you will sight a small patch of cord grass high on the tide / wash flats to your left. Please stay behind barriers and park in designated places. Fees: $1.00/person before 10:00 a.m., $3.00 after 10. **************************************************************************** ************* Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: Re: Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! From: Diane Reed <dreedster AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 10:44:46 -0400 The sand plover is still there.? Seen this morning at 10am.? Driving conditions are good for all vehicles. Diane Reed St. Augustine, FL -----Original Message----- From: Charlie Ewell To: SHOREBIRDS AT LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Sent: Fri, 15 May 2009 8:31 am Subject: [SHOREBIRDS] Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! FYI ------Original Message------ From: Larry Manfredi Sender: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU ReplyTo: Larry Manfredi Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! Sent: May 15, 2009 8:05 AM John Kellam just called to report that the Greater Sand-Plover is being seen again this morning. It has been chasing away Wilson's Plovers which is a good sign that it may stick around for some time. Larry Manfredi Homestead, FL E-mail: birderlm AT bellsouth.net http://www.southfloridabirding.com To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T Subject: Fw: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 12:31:08 +0000 FYI ------Original Message------ From: Larry Manfredi Sender: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU ReplyTo: Larry Manfredi Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover Yes! Sent: May 15, 2009 8:05 AM John Kellam just called to report that the Greater Sand-Plover is being seen again this morning. It has been chasing away Wilson's Plovers which is a good sign that it may stick around for some time. Larry Manfredi Homestead, FL E-mail: birderlm AT bellsouth.net http://www.southfloridabirding.com To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T Subject: Greater Sand-plover images From: Patrick Leary <PRleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 22:15:32 -0400 Visit this site for a few more images of the Greater Sand-plover sighted at Huguenot Park, Duval Co. FL today. These digiscope images were collected at distance from behind a marked boundary line protecting the park's tidal flats. For most of the afternoon the GSPL foraged near WIPL and occasionally engaged in aggressive disputes with same. http://www.flickr.com/photos/28226894 AT N03/?saved=1 Subject: FW: [FLARBA] Photo Update--5/14/09--Greater Sand-plover, Duval County From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 21:52:00 -0400 Directions to the area where the plover was seen below. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org _____ From: Florida Rare Bird Alert [mailto:FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Christian Newton Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 7:32 PM To: FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [FLARBA]--5/14/09--Greater Sand-plover, Duval County 5/14/09--Breeding Plumage Greater Sand-plover, Huguenot Memorial Park, Duval County. Reporter: Wes Biggs, observers: Doris Leary, Lesley Royce & Carol Adams, Roger Clark. Directions: Huguenot Memorial Park is located off of Heckscher Dr. (Rt.105/A1A); just south of Little Talbot Island (DeLORME p.g 58) Sand-plover is being seen at Huguenot lagoon. Photo taken by Roger Clark. **************************************************************************** ************* Non-subscribers and subscribers: to report a rare bird, send pertinent details of observation to FLARBA AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. If no email access, call 716/225-8055 to leave a message. To unsubscribe: send a message "SIGNOFF FLARBA" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To set to no mail: send a message "SET FLARBA NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU. To reach the FLARBA Archives go to http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/flarba.html Subject: FW: Greater Sand-Plover photo by Roger Clark From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 21:49:58 -0400 FYI Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org -----Original Message----- From: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History [mailto:BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Larry Manfredi Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 7:04 PM To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [BRDBRAIN] Greater Sand-Plover photo by Roger Clark I am posting this wonderful photo by Roger Clark of Jacksonville of the Greater Sand-Plover. I sure hope it sticks around for the weekend. The photo can be seen here: http://www.southfloridabirding.com/images/tasphotos/Greater_Sandplover.jpg Larry Manfredi Homestead, Fl E-mail: birderlm AT bellsouth.net http://www.southfloridabirding.com To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: GREATER SANDPLOVER reported in northeast Florida From: Charlie Ewell <anhinga42 AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 16:00:18 -0400 FYI Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com http://www.birdpatrol.org Burrowing Owl Festival (Feb 21 2009) info at: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ FL Ornithological Society info http://fosbirds.org -----Original Message----- From: Wes Biggs To: Flabirding AT yahoogroups.com; FLORIDABIRDS-L AT LISTS.UFL.EDU Sent: Thu, 14 May 2009 12:52 pm Subject: [FlaBirding] GREATER SANDPLOVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hi All, 12:30 PM The second Western Hemisphere record of Greater Sandplover is now being photographed by Roger Clark in the basin at Huguenot Memorial Park off Hecksher Drive in Jacksonville. The bird was found late this AM by Doris Leary, Lesley Royce & Carol Adams. The bird is in breeding plumage. Wes Biggs Orlando Cell Phone # 407-376-6967 After 1:00 PM _________________________________________________________ Subject: South Carolina shorebird migration and rarities From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 08:45:43 -0700 I saw my fourth South Carolina RUFF of 2009 this past weekend - on both Saturday and Sunday while doing ISS surveys and other shorebird field work in mid-coastal South Carolina. I have been averaging 3 Ruff sightings per year in coastal SC since 2006 (2 in 2006, 3 in 2007, 3 in 2008, now 4 in 2009). It is becoming obvious that northbound spring Ruff are stopping at managed wetlands in coastal South Carolina more and more in the past few years (perhaps to the detriment of Delaware and New Jersey, to hear friends up there talk about it). Chris Snook also saw this weekend's bird (a Reeve) on Saturday and confirmed the I.D. Chris has more experience with Ruff than most people in North America, since he is a British birder who has also banded them at a major wintering site in Senegal, Africa. I got a slightly better look at the Reeve again on Sunday, while surveying some impoundments when Chris was working at a different location. I know this is not the Ruff our group found 2 weeks before in the same general area, since the previous bird was a male with the beginnings of a black bib. We saw 29 shorebird species over two days this past weekend; 28 species on Sunday and 27 (including a Baird's Sandpiper) on Saturday. Peep numbers exploded over the past week; Semipalmated Sandpipers are right on schedule - but Western Sandpiper numbers seem VERY abnormally low this spring along the SC Coast. There are still surprisingly large numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers present - we saw thousands both days and 2200+ in a single impoundment Sunday! Dunlin numbers are still high - we saw thousands for the weekend and many hundreds in several impoundments. I think our high count for Dunlin in a single impoundment was a bit over 1200. Semipalmated Sandpiper numbers remained high and continued to increase - thousands observed both days. After a drop in numbers the weekend before, Stilt Sandpipers put on a good show - we had several dozen again this past weekend. We also had thousands of Semipalmated Plovers each day. The Baird's Sandpiper was striking and in full alternate plumage - we noted the bird's larger size compared to nearby "peeps", silvery-gray back with black spots, the subtle supercilium, wingtips extending past the tip of the tail (flapping in the breeze at times), the "long and slim" appearance of the bird, and the short + ever-so-slightly drooped bill. It helped that a White-rumped Sandpiper was foraging near the Baird's - this allowed for pretty direct comparison. We also had 3, possibly 4 American Golden-Plovers Sunday (need to go over some photos to be sure). We also noted some "beach birds" slightly inland in drained waterfowl impoundments (former ricefields) - Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone and Wilson's Plovers. The only rare bird Chris missed seeing was a Gray Kingbird I blundered into Sunday while driving from the beach to the cabin to get our lunch and some insect balm (microbrew beer) for use in the late afternoon. Lest the weekend's rarities seem like a completely wonderful experience, we had to contend with plenty of serious biting insects - sand gnats, mosquitoes, deer flies (hordes), horse flies (quite a few) and Cow Flies (not a lot, but they are HUGE). It is one thing to endure them for a few minutes on the way to/from the car - another thing entirely to endure them for hours on end while walking long distances, counting shorebirds, taking photos + video, and so forth. We paid in blood for our shorebirds! Shorebird species list for the weekend: -------------------------------- Black-bellied Plover AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER Wilson's Plover Semipalmated Plover Killdeer American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Willet Lesser Yellowlegs Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper BAIRD'S SANDPIPER Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper RUFF Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Just Announced - GIS Mapping Workshops in Georgia From: New Urban Research <nur AT URBAN-RESEARCH.INFO> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:12:47 -0700 Hey group, We're trying to get the word out regarding a couple of upcoming GIS mapping workshops in Georgia. The workshops are geared toward beginners who would like to map demographic information for Georgia communities. Great for Health, Environmental, Advocacy, Housing, Non-Profit Agencies, etc Mapping Georgia Communities: An Introduction to GIS & Community Analysis Atlanta: May 14th and 15th, 2009* Classroom Resource Group Learning Center - One Glenlake Parkway, Suite 200 Atlanta , GA, 30328 *These are one-day workshops (8:30am - 4:30pm). Participants choose which day to attend. Audience: Beginners, anyone interested in mapping their community. Focus: This workshop is customized for each location. This hands-on workshop focuses on teaching the fundamentals of using a Geographic Information System (GIS) for community analysis. Participants will learn to create thematic maps with Census data, Geocoding (Address mapping) and Spatial Queries. Other features of the workshop are learning to extract Census data and good map layout and design. For more information about the Georgia workshop, please visit www.nur-online.com Gina Clemmer New Urban Research, Inc. 877.241.6576 | www.urban-research.info Subject: Sociable Lapwing issue again From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com> Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:00:09 +0100 Dear Listers, Sorry for cross-posting. Recent images of killed Sociable Lapwings posted on surfbirds.com. Just for your information: http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery16 Direct links to the images: http://www.surfbirds.com/media/gallery_photos/20090322090219.JPG http://www.surfbirds.com/media/gallery_photos/20090322090016.JPG Text quoted: "Sociable Lapwing, Syria, north of Deir ez-Zor March 10, 2009 ©Remco Holfland Remains of a male and female, shot and eaten the previous day by local hunters. They said between 2,000 and 3,000 were present in the general area, of which we saw a flock of 65 (see above). Flocks of 8 and 26 were seen in other areas few days earlier." So the case seems to be continued. Hunting of these shorebirds is still an issue (and I guess it remains for a while) in the Middle East. I would be happy to learn more about the international efforts on stopping illegal hunting of Sociable Lapwings in the Middle East or anywhere along the migration route. BR: Szimi ---------- Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi) Skype: szimistyle.com iChat: gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com URL: http://www.szimistyle.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ This list is maintained by the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia. Read all about us at http://www.osme.org To unsubscribe by email send an empty email message to:- MEBirdNet-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MEBirdNet/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MEBirdNet/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:MEBirdNet-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:MEBirdNet-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: MEBirdNet-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Sociable Lapwing issue again From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:00:09 +0100 Dear Listers, Sorry for cross-posting. Recent images of killed Sociable Lapwings posted on surfbirds.com. Just for your information: http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery16 Direct links to the images: http://www.surfbirds.com/media/gallery_photos/20090322090219.JPG http://www.surfbirds.com/media/gallery_photos/20090322090016.JPG Text quoted: "Sociable Lapwing, Syria, north of Deir ez-Zor March 10, 2009 ©Remco Holfland Remains of a male and female, shot and eaten the previous day by local hunters. They said between 2,000 and 3,000 were present in the general area, of which we saw a flock of 65 (see above). Flocks of 8 and 26 were seen in other areas few days earlier." So the case seems to be continued. Hunting of these shorebirds is still an issue (and I guess it remains for a while) in the Middle East. I would be happy to learn more about the international efforts on stopping illegal hunting of Sociable Lapwings in the Middle East or anywhere along the migration route. BR: Szimi ---------- Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi) Skype: szimistyle.com iChat: gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com URL: http://www.szimistyle.com Subject: banded DUNL confirmed and identified From: Patrick Leary <prleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:08:48 -0400 Thanks to those who generously assisted our efforts to ID a source for the banded DUNL we recently sighted. Ultimately, a series of contacts from Alaska to the east coast narrowed the search to the proper source below. Note the bird's age. What cannot be shared is the remarkable, pristine, condition of the bird's full complement of bands despite their long exposure. Via this search, we learned that Alaskan north slope DUNL receive a Y above FG on the tibia but with no add color bands below. Conversely, the DelBay DUNL receive Y above FG WITH add color bands on the tarsus. Although we have sighted marked: SAND, RUTU and REKN banded in DelRay, this was our first banded DUNL from any location. A flagged REKN sighted on the same series of AMOY surveys as the DUNL was banded the previous year in SW Florida. Patrick and Doris Leary Hi Pat, Thanks so much for reporting your resighting. That dunlin was banded 9 May 2000 at Thompsons Beach, Delaware Bay, NJ. We've been monitoring weight gain of shorebirds during spring stopover on the Delaware Bay since 1997. The color bands individualize each bird which allows us to track their movement around the bayshore during their stay. Thanks again, Patti Patti Hodgetts Research Associate New Jersey Audubon Society 600 Route 47 North Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Phone: 609 861-0700 Fax: 609 861-1651 Subject: color-banded Dunlin From: Patrick Leary <prleary AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:15:19 -0500 Members: We are seeking contact info re researchers or projects involving color-banded DUNL in NA. We have digital images and pertinent data on a color-banded DUNL recently sighted in Dixie County, FL (upper gulf coast) Your assistance is appreciated, Doris and Pat Leary, Fernandina Beach, FL Subject: Eurasian Woodcock survey by hunters From: Gyorgy Szimuly <gyorgy.szimuly AT MAC.COM> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:15:15 +0100 Dear Waderers, Sorry for crossposting! I am not sure I should be happy by a Hungarian initiative for the survey of the population of the Eurasian Woodcock in Hungary. You can read the story behind in my blog: http://href.hu/x/87d3 I would like to know more about the best and applicable monitoring method for estimating the breeding population of this elusive shorebird. I am looking for help of experts within the network who can share thoughts which would be greatly appreciated. Thanks: Szimi ---------- Gyorgy Szimuly (Szimi) Skype: szimistyle.com iChat: gyorgy.szimuly AT mac.com URL: http://www.szimistyle.com