Today Mac Myers and I ran the last of a 12-month series of beach surveys. It was hot and bright, and there were no big surprises, but there were plenty of birds to look at all day long. June is a great month on the coast, with a lot of migrant birds still moving through or hanging out, while many local birds are busy raising young. Among the former group, there are still plenty of Black Terns and Common Terns around. Many birders who've done June pelagic trips in the Gulf have learned that Black Terns can be surprisingly abundant out there; usually the first few cries of "Storm Petrel" turn out to be Black Terns zipping by. Common Terns also seem to stay an uncommonly long time, especially younger Commons that are probably not ready to breed.
Like last month, we had a good handful of left behind scoters and scaup today as well. Some birds which seem to be present every month of the year out there, like Long-billed Curlew and Whimbrel, were recorded again.
Breeders included Least Terns, as seen in the family portrait below,
and Willets, who don't like to be ignored.
Last month, I mentioned the bleached out Herring Gulls that can be found on Gulf beaches in summer. This month, quite a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls joined them. Most were fairly ratty, but this second cycle bird seems to be in pretty good shape overall.
Overall, a good day to be out.
