Arcadia and an unexpected find later

Spotted Sandpiper, Arcadia, May 21, 2013

Killdeer, Arcadia, May 21, 2013

Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer, Arcadia, May 21, 2013

The morning started off warm and muggy and once the low clouds and fog burned off it became hazy with a summer like feel with a high around 90.  With just a little time before work I decided to try my luck at Arcadia checking out the marsh area in the hopes of finding something odd (a Sandhill Crane and a pair of Northern Shovelers had been present there several days ago).  The mosquitoes were bad but not quite horrible yet....perhaps a 5 or 6 on the 'mosquito annoyance scale'.  A scan of the marsh revealed several each of Wood Duck and Mallard but nothing else for waterfowl.  There were a handful of sandpipers including a few Least Sandpipers, four (or more) Spotted Sandpipers and a couple Killdeer.   The nearby oxbow held at least ten Double crested Cormorants.  Although the radar last night showed some good movement I didn’t have the time to search too much for new arrivals but I did hear at least one Blackpoll Warbler calling as I headed out.

The best bird of the day came when I was at work and had no binoculars or camera.  I was at Smith College and heard an unusual bird along a large hedgerow near the Mill River.  After a bit of effort I was able to see naked eye a Mourning Warbler working its way through the underbrush and singing.  Not what I was expecting to find today!  This became species #203 for the county this year.

This evening he had some thunderstorms and the next few days feature more of the same with warm weather and the chance of storms.  Not likely there will be much of an influx the next couple of nights.