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Highlights: Lesser Black-backed Gull & Northern Goshawk

        Well, we had to work a few things out to get the blog going again, so thank you for your patience. Before getting to the more recent sightings I should mention two of the highlights so far this season. A Townsend’s Solitaire was found by Emily Bertucci on 9/25 and a Summer Tanager was found on 9/27 by waterbird counter Eric Ripma. The tanager is the first fall record and I believe just the third documented record for the Point.

       The recent weather pattern has produced days of easterly and southerly winds stalling things out a bit as we were started to see the transition from early season migrants to the mid-season migrants. There are of course still birds to be found and a few more highlights. Black-backed Woodpeckers have been regular the last few days, including two males on one of the snags near the waterbird shack on 10/1. A Harlequin Duck flew by the Point with four Surf Scoters on 10/2. Sightings of Pine Siskin, Purple Finch and Red Crossbill are becoming more regular and the first American Tree Sparrow was seen today. We are very occasionally also hearing White-winged Crossbills, hopefully their numbers will pick up a bit. Although diversity has been low in the woods during recent days, there has been good numbers of Golden-crowned Kinglets  and a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets mixing in with the chickadees and nuthatches. We have also been seeing a nice push of Downy Woodpeckers along with a few Hairies and Pileateds.

    The forecast is calling for this weather system to finally break this weekend and hopefully things will open up as the winds switch and the temperature drops.

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The above juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl was found roosting on 10/1. It is an unusually late date for a Saw-whet to have this much retained juvenal plumage, the vast majority are already in full adult plumage. It has already grown in its white adult eyelid feathers while still retaining most of its dark juvenal facial disc feathers making those eyelids really stand out. It was later seen dropping down to the ground and then coming back up with a mouse before heading deeper into the woods.

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Northern Harriers (above) & Peregrine Falcons (below) have been making regular appearances out at the tip.

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Warbler diversity is winding down, but the large amount of water in the woods this season has clearly produced good conditions for Northern Waterthrush and their bright call notes have been heard regularly this season.

Chris Neri