Rarity Fever struck in New Jersey this week, when two days ago a Little Stint was found at Brig (=Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge). It was only the fourth NJ record, and one hasn’t been seen in the state for 17 years. I went today, expecting a crowd (which was there), so I joined them. The bird was not being seen in its usual location when we arrived (having been flushed away by a hungry Peregrine Falcon), so we left the crowd, hoping to find it elsewhere in the impoundment. Eventually a text arrived saying that it had indeed returned to its favored feeding location.
So we did get to see THE bird, a peep of a shorebird that looks incredibly similar to every other peep shorebird, so much so that even when people were pointing it out, it often was hard to figure out which bird they were referring to. The plumage is quite unremarkable, with the most notable thing about this bird being the realization that it is lost, and should be back home somewhere in Europe. A giant tip of the hat to Yong Kong for being able to find and identify this bird; I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do it because I don’t have Yong’s patience, determination, or skill. It was a lifer, which is hard for me to come by in NJ.
Just a small part of the Little Stint crowd along the Brig dikes today. Out-of-state plates were seen from NY, PA, and MD. Undoubtedly more states will be represented as the days go by.
At times it looked more like an optics convention.
The darker bird on top is the one that is causing all the ruckus. The most notable identification feature is the white lines (or ‘braces’) on its back.
Seeing these rarities with crowds is always an interesting experience. I very much enjoy seeing local birders who I haven’t seen for a while and being part of a “happening” in our hobby, but overall I’m not the type of person who likes to get out of a car, join a crowd, and have somebody point to a bird, and say ‘There it is”. The best part of the day for me was unexpectedly seeing a Yellow-breasted Chat on one of the trails. And trying to take flight photos of Orange Sulfurs.
Orange Sulfur butterflies, with one at rest and the other in flight.