Good morning- I decided to have a look at the migration turnover northeast, and had time for a fairly thorough look at Prewitt followed by a quick stop at Jackson. First, for those who haven't made it out to Prewitt, you really should have a look. The place is jumpin' with many different families of birds- warblers, sparrows, blycatcher, woodpeckers, shorebirds, waders..... My "landbirding" was confined to a long walk from the "west" (Washington County) parking lot up to the Logan County lot and back. In the open woodlands there are clouds of chipping sparrows, accompanied by lots of lark and a few clay-colored and Brewer's and several Townsend's warblers. I found one female Baltimore oriole there, too. As usual, the olive marsh area (just past the first cottonwood grove, working east from the outlet canal) was excellent, with many Wilson's and yellow warblers, plus orange-crowned, yellowthroat and one Nashville (western). There were lots of blue-gray gnatcatchers and one Cassin's vireo. The next cottonwood grove had a woodpecker "fourfecta": flicker, red-headed, downy and hairy. Also in that area were two willow flycatchers and nice worn dusky. The "mystery miss"? Robin. Didn't have a single one all day.
Out on the mudflats there are great numbers of sandpipers, including most of the usual suspects: pectoral, peeps, stilt sandpipers, avocets, both yellowlegs, etc. There was a small group of dowitchers, with one short-billed. For whatever reason, a single juvenile ibis had wandered in. There was also a single Wilson's phalarope and fifteen red-necked. the real show here was the black terns- there were around 200. A quick survey indicated about 80% juveniles. This is by far the most I have even seen anywhere.
A quick stop at Jackson SWA (north end of reservoir) yielded the mountain plover flock that has been previously reported, a large flock of bank swallows perched on the fences, and a lone wild turkey that wandered across the road. I tried the east side of the reservoir in hopes of turning up the curlew sandpiper, but the northeast corner was mostly deserted except for a few peeps, yellowlegs, and stilt sp's. There was a good-sized flock of Wilson's phals a little further out, and around a hundred white-faced ibis (too far out to check for glossy). There are thousands of shorebirds out there but the water is so shallow that they can wander hundreds of yards from the closest viewing points, making observations, ahem, challenging.
It was a fantastic day on the eastern plains. Get out there and enjoy!
Norm Lewis
Lakewood
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