NH Coast (Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red Knot, no Baird's, no Terns etc.)

[Steve Mirick]

Kind of a disappointing day along the coast this morning. We got out
and walked Odiorne Point State Park in Rye early hoping for some land
birds. Very slow EXCEPT for two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. We also had
two last weekend. For what its worth, our last record for Odiorne Point
State Park for this species was 1 bird on October 25, 2014.

On Marsh Road Pond in Rye, there were about 400 small shorebirds. Mostly
Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. But NO BAIRD'S
SANDPIPER. A MERLIN kept buzzing the flock. Interestingly, there was a
COLOR-FLAG BANDED Semipalmated Sandpiper. A juvenile bird with a white
flag band and black lettering. Ben Griffith submitted the number, but
it was not yet in the data base. The fact that it was a juvenile would
indicate it was recently banded. Perhaps at one of the banding
operations in the Bay of Fundy.

As the tide went out in Hampton Harbor, we found a single juvenile RED
KNOT along with 6 adult WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS along with the the
normal birds. No large shorebirds. It used to be relatively common to
get Whimbrels and Hudsonian Godwits in the mussel beds sometimes in
numbers. These areas have shrunk considerably and is likely partly the
reason why we don't get them as often. Consider:

Hudsonian Godwit - 7 in Hampton Harbor on 8/23/92
Hudsonian Godwit - 7 in Hampton Harbor on 8/14/93
Whimbrel - 11 in Hampton Harbor on 7/19/92
Whimbrel - 11 in Hampton Harbor on 8/5/95
Whimbrel - 11 in Hampton Harbor on 8/6/03
Whimbrel - 11 in Hampton Harbor on 8/28/11
Whimbrel - 9 in Hampton Harbor on 8/7/98
Whimbrel - 9 in Hampton Harbor on 8/2/06

Otherwise, not much to report. Not much migrating offshore, but we
didn't scan a lot due to the sun. We heard that Scott Surner from
Massachusetts had a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON off Worthely
Road in Seabrook, but we didn't check.

Of interest is the COMPLETE LACK OF ANY TERNS along the shoreline.
Zero. Kind of too bad. Consider these counts of mine from past years:

509 - August 9, 2009
700 - August 31, 2005
700 - August 28, 2011
400 - August 28, 1999
450 - September 3, 2000
500 - September 14, 2001

Hopefully we get some bait fish along the shoreline to increase some
interest for terns, etc.

Steve & Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA