Yesterday's thunderstorms have raised the water level of the impoundment significantly. So much so, that the area that on the eastern side that I said was so great two days ago is only good for ducks and Yellowlegs now. 

On the Western side, the water line has moved down the mudflat about 20 yards or so. There the shorebirds are still abundant. Amongst the Hundreds of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers and dozens of Yellowlegs, the highlights were a White-Rumped Sandpiper, a Stilt Sandpiper, and a Short-Billed Dowitcher.

A marauding Merlin, who at one point perched cooperatively in a tree above a group of birdwatchers, did a good job of scattering the shorebirds later in the afternoon.

Ron Payne
Middlebury, VT