by Seth Davis
To say that MYBC aren’t fair-weather birders is an understatement this time… We decided that despite rain in the forecast we would push on with our August trip. Unfortunately the forecast didn’t lie. We arrived at Laudholm with a small drizzle, which quickly became a constant downpour. Did that detour us? Well, a little, but in general no! We continued through the bad weather and managed to see quite a few species (including 4 raptors) in the 3 hours we were out!
We started off on the Saw-whet trail, rain was falling but managed to see many of the expected birds (Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, etc.). The real magic happened as we hit the outlooks! There we spotted many of the typical marsh birds (egrets, herons, gulls, etc.) but also spotted and Osprey, several peeps, and Willets!
On our way down to the beach, we spotted our second raptor for the day, a Cooper’s Hawk, and got some great views of of more marsh birds. At the beach we saw several types of sandpipers and some AMAZING views of two Ospreys hunting in the ocean! On our return to the parking lot, some of the young birders spotted a Merlin sitting high up in a tree, and subsequently a begrudging (due to the rain) Red-tailed Hawk near the fields.
All in all, it was a surprisingly productive trip despite how bad the weather was! 32 species ain’t bad for a crummy weather day. Our full checklist can be seen here:
