Rowan and I spent some time looking for birds today, including in the Channel, out at Starrigavan, and then at the Turnaround (we had also intended to check out John Brown’s Beach but the gates onto the Coast Guard base were closed for some reason). We saw mostly fairly typical birds, but also had a brief showing by a mink running across the ramp (and causing the gulls loafing there to take off) in front of UAS. We wouldn’t have stopped at the Turnaround, but I needed to get something from True Value, so scanned the beach to see if any of the gulls looked unusual (I didn’t notice any). While I was in the store, someone asked me if I had seen the large shorebird out there, either a Whimbrel or a godwit. I thought he said he had seen it yesterday, but I’m not sure. In any case, I decided to look out on the beach again, and it didn’t take long to spot the cinnamon colored Marbled Godwit. I think there are only a few Southeast records of this species from the fall, and this is one of the later ones (though two years ago we had one stay into November).
I heard on the radio today that someone reported a waterspout near Middle Island. I’ve heard of those being seen in this area before and someday I would like to see one, but today was not that day. Temperatures have dropped with the unsettled weather, and snow levels have come down close to 2000 feet. At times it almost looked like there were bits of snow mixed in with the rain as it hit the car windshield while I was driving, but it may have just been melting hail or sleet.
