So Pip and I met up with Frank Mayer and his partner Shayla and we headed
down to Lower Fourmile Creek to bird. It was windy at sunrise so not great
for passerines. However, it was wonderful for shorebirds along New River at
Lower Fourmile Creek (10 min south of Bandon). We did the same birding trip
last year on 26 April and had almost the same two hour count total for
Western Sandpipers. It is a great count spot as the river is full of
mudflats to the south and the flocks eventually have to come by when they
head north. The river is relatively narrow at the end of the very short
trail and so it makes a great counting location and we were able to do
fairly accurate estimates as flocks came right by us (they were coming by
every minute the whole two hours). I have attached our checklist. Plenty of
SB Dows (only one Long-billed which are very uncommon in April but not so
in May!), good numbers of Caspian Terns, and no Ruddy Turnstones or Red
Knots also. We could not see the beach or ocean where we were counting,
only the river. Seems like the godwits and curlews stick to the beach and
we usually do not see them along the river either.
eBird Checklist - 22 Apr 2024 - Lower Fourmile Trail - 71 species (+3 other
taxa)
https://ebird.org/checklist/S169832744
I have some video of shorebirds passing but not sure how to share that.
Anyhow fun morning. Tomorrow should be a good day also. Wednesday not much
north wind and then wet for a while so this may be the best viewing window
(for the large numbers), but there are still smaller shorebird numbers
around for a few more weeks and is a better time for knots and Ruddy Ts. If
we get a break in the weather next week and have some strong NW winds that
could be a great time for seeing big numbers too.
Merry shorebird migration!
Tim R
Coos County
