Fall migration is in high gear
Although it actually begins in July, the fall migration isn’t truly noticed until August. Now, birders can observe a wide variety of wood warblers, hawks, shorebirds and herons working their way through our region. In fact, New London is dead center to some of the very best fall birding.
It seems just like yesterday that I was up with the thinnest rays of morning light to search for spring warblers heading north. Yet in the blink of an eye species such as magnolia, blackpoll, blackburnian and Canada warblers are now already on their way back south. And as the wood warblers leave their forested habitats, the unobtrusive broad-winged hawks are also feeling the urge to depart those same forests.
Virtually undetected and forgotten by all but the most dedicated birders, the broad-winged hawk lives quietly in the deep undisturbed forests of New England where it hunts and raises its young through the summer. Soon, on some cool day in September, just after a cold front has moved through, they will take to the air and fill the sky in great numbers gaining center stage. Look for them and other hawk species around the second week of September along escarpments and specific coastlines.
While at the coast, focus those binoculars on the surf; that’s where you’ll find shorebirds. Every year at the end of July they make their way into Connecticut. Their numbers intensify in August, and by September their migration is almost over. For some species, such as black-bellied plover and semipalmated, solitary and upland sandpipers, the journey through this region will be complete shortly after Labor Day.
Shorebirds are fascinating when you consider that the average sandpiper consumes 55 percent of its body weight each day before migrating, or that the ruddy turnstone, a wide ranging shorebird, has been documented as flying 27,000 kilometers — from Australia to Arctic Siberia. One very energetic ruddy turnstone reportedly flew 6,000 kilometers nonstop over the Pacific Ocean and another made a journey from Australia to Taiwan in just six days.
Herons are on the move this time of year, too. Although they are not super long-distance migrants capable of astonishing speeds, herons do migrate to the Southern states and beyond. They don’t get the attention like the other fall migrants, but it is quite a thrill to see a flock of eight or more large herons wading along the edge of a hidden pond or estuary. It is even possible to encounter the smaller egrets and herons known to this area.
It is wise to use a canoe on large freshwater marshes when finding straggling herons and egrets. Look for shorebirds after a heavy rain in flooded agricultural fields or in dry spells along muddy shorelines. Finally, visit coastal sites during early morning or when the tide is beginning to come in; during high tide, always check the shrubby edges of the lagoons beyond the beach.
We are ideally located between Groton’s Bluff Point and Hammonasset State Beach. Both parks are premier fall migration birding sites. So be sure to take advantage of our location along the coast during this exciting time of year.
Robert Tougias is a birding author who lives in Colchester. He is available for presentations and will answer questions at rtougias@snet.net.
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