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August 2008

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From:
Craig Holt <[log in to unmask]>
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Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:19:53 -0700
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I arrived at Conneaut at dawn yesterday and remained till about 5:00 PM.  There were intermittent showers throughout the day, and so very few people at the spit other than birders.  Shorebird numbers were definitely down from last week, and the birds seemed skittish much of the time.  Perhaps falcons joined the Cooper's hawk in hunting them lately.  Low-flying turkey vultures and the gull-spooking bald eagles are a constant presence there also.  At any rate, many of the shorebirds were brief visitors only--often more interested in bathing than feeding.  It was quite a challenge to find, ID, age and tally birds as they trickled in and out over the hours.  It's also obvious that numerous birds commute back and forth to the nearest breakwall during the day--just like they used to do at the Lorain Impoundment back in the day.  Anyways, I ended up with 13 shorebird species: black-bellied plover, killdeers, 20 semipalmated plovers, 7 lesser yellowlegs,
 spotted sandpiper, 7+ sanderlings, 3 ruddy turnstones, 20 semipalmated sandpipers, 10 least sandpipers, 5 Baird's sandpipers, 12 pectoral sandpipers, 2 stilt sandpipers, and 3 short-billed dowitchers.  I couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since some of these High Arctic visitors had last touched ground; and how many had never seen a human before.  Other birds of note at the harbor were: Am. black duck, 5 green-winged teal, great egret, 3 green herons, 2 black-crowned night-herons, 6 imm. bald eagles, Bonaparte's gulls (including a striking juv. in early molt to first-winter), great black-backed gull, Caspian terns, Forster's tern, 7 common terns, sora, bank swallows, 2 cliff swallows, tree swallows, and 50 barn swallows.  On the way home I spotted 8 wild turkeys and Am. kestrel along Rte. 7 in Ashtabula Co.  Later, Craig




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