I started out at the Pine Island Turf Farm and quickly got caught in a 30-minute torrential downpour. Although sitting out that rainstorm was quite boring, the after-effects were good as the fresh puddles attract lots of birds. Here I found the expected species of Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, and Semi-Palmated Plovers.
My next stop was the Camel Farm and here I had an exciting find of a Black Tern hawking insects over the large pond there. This is my first Orange County record for this species !
On the pond were several Blue-Winged Teal, and along the edges I found Lesser Yellowlegs and Spotted Sandpiper, while a few Bobolink flew overhead sounding off with their "pink-pink" calls.
Afterward I visited Skinner's Lane and here too I had another Black Tern ! Also seen here were Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, both Yellowlegs species, Least Sandpiper, Cooper's Hawk, Peregrine Falcon and American Kestrel.
My last stop was on Turtle Bay with John Haas, and he showed me an American Golden Plover amongst the other species we saw of Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, both Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper and a few Swallow species.
Overall a pretty good morning out after the rain.
