I had a very enjoyable morning at Reid State Park on Thursday. A strong cold front Wednesday evening ushered in a respite from the hot air and high humidity. It was still warm and rather muggy in the morning, but a cool breeze was comforting.

The walk down the entrance road provided a number of family groups of Yellow-rumped and Black-throated Green Warblers, plus some singing Northern Parulas and Blackburnian Warblers.

Down at the shore, the migration of southbound shorebirds is definitely underway. 44 Short-billed Dowitchers, 9 Least Sandpipers, 1+ Semipalmated Sandpiper, and one each of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs were feeding here this morning, all adults, and all are likely recent arrivals from the far north.

I found one family group of Spotted Sandpipers, with three downy puffballs on toothpicks following closely behind the pair. There are lots of Willets breeding in the marsh here, and one lone Piping Plover incubated her eggs on a nest within a predator exclosure. Unfortunately, Piping Plovers are now pretty much dependant on our hands-on stewardship.

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows thin out quickly as one moves east along the Maine coast, and I rarely see more than a few here among the masses of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows. In fact, I only saw 1 Saltie this morning.

Terns were also active this morning. There were plenty of Common Terns, but at least three Roseate Terns were also feeding in the surf, and one Arctic Tern # uncommon nearshore in such pleasant weather # joined in as well.

On Friday I continued on the southbound shorebird theme with a visit to Scarborough Marsh. After meeting Robbie to get hooked up with some stinky bait for tomorrow's pelagic, we birded the Eastern Rd Trail. The Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow activity was outstanding this morning.

We ran into Ed, who had just completed a shorebird survey. In the pannes, he had a very early Pectoral Sandpiper, and a very uncommon # and also very early # Stilt Sandpiper. Unfortunately, by the time Robbie and I made it to the pannes, shorebirds were already departed as the tide rushed out, and we found only a small number of shorebirds. However, we did enjoy great looks at the local Seaside Sparrow.

I then returned to Pine Point to await the unveiling of the mudflats. As the tide receded, more and more mud and sand became exposed, and more and more shorebirds began to arrive. A pair of American Oystercatchers and a single early Whimbrel was the highlights, but the overall number of birds was quite good.

My counts were as follows:
~100 Bonaparte's Gulls
72 Willets (all Eastern, as expected)
63 Short-billed Dowitchers
~50 Semipalmated Sandpipers
16 Black-bellied Plovers
9 Semipalmated Plovers
8 Lesser Yellowlegs
3 Greater Yellowlegs
2 American Oystercatchers
1 Whimbrel

Meanwhile, at least 10 Roseate Terns were feeding with numerous Commons in the narrows; a great show indeed. In other words, it was a spectacular morning. And, with cooler temperatures and much lower humidity, it was a perfect morning to be out. Both fortunately, and unfortunately, however, the quantity of shorebirds is rapidly increasing, signifying that autumn is indeed on the way!

By the way, there is still room on tomorrow's ½ Day Pelagic. Walk-ons will be welcome. See www.yarmouthbirds.com/travels.asp for more info.