Ann Mitchell & I went to Montezuma this afternoon in an unsuccessful chase of Mark Miller's Greater White-fronted Geese. However, we did meet Mark, and he kindly showed photos of the birds, which were nice, but rather more static and two dimensional than we hoped for. We also met Gary Calabrese, who kindly told us all about seeing the Western Kingbird and Yellow-headed Blackbird we missed.
We checked the Visitor Center, the Wildlife Drive and Towpath Road. The FRANKLIN'S GULL and the AMERICAN AVOCET continue on Towpath, the gull at first feeding alone on the mud of Knox-Marsellus and later resting alone in the shallows of Puddler, the avocet feeding in Puddler. Also at Puddler were 7 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, several each of DUNLIN and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Other shorebirds included a brief distant view of a possible BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at Knox-Marsellus, several KILLDEER and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at the Visitor Center and 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS resting in Larue's.
The vegetation and puddles along Towpath Road were busy with YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Among them we also found both RUBY- and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO, as well as TUFTED TITMICE, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, and SONG and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS. A SWAMP SPARROW stayed in the Phragmites.
The most amazing sight was a/the immature PEREGRINE FALCON again at the southeast corner of Puddler, where it had chased a Lesser Yellowlegs past us on Tuesday. This afternoon we found the falcon standing in the marsh near the road, its legs and tail covered with mud, as it held down a still-twitching, but too-muddy-to-ID duck, which it proceeded to pluck and eat.
--Dave Nutter
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