(Reprinted from the Fall 2024 issue of New Hampshire Bird Records)
The weather is finally turning fall-like, and migration is in full swing throughout the month. Keep your ID guide handy—those “confusing fall warblers” can show up at any time! Here are a few birding highlights to watch for in September…
- The first Blue-winged Teals appear in August, but sightings peak in September. Good places to look for them include Horseshoe Pond in Concord, the Rochester Wastewater Treatment Plant (open on weekdays only until 2:45 pm), and Exeter Wastewater Treatment Plant (do not walk past the gate).
- Juvenile shorebirds begin to arrive. They have fresh feathers and look stunning. The later-migrating species such as American Golden-Plover and Dunlin also begin to arrive.
- September is a great month for warbler migration as the “confusing fall warblers” can move through at any time. Odiorne Point State Park in Rye can be a great place for a fallout in poor weather.
- Broad-winged Hawk migration peaks in mid-September with the potential for days with over 1,000 birds. Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory in Peterborough has a regularly staffed fall hawkwatch, but you can watch from any high spot with a good view to the north.
- In late September, check any hummingbirds very carefully; this is the time when vagrants such as Rufous Hummingbird become more likely than Ruby-throated.
New Hampshire Bird Records is now available in digital format—free to all NH Audubon members. Not a member yet? Join here! Members receive an email with a link to each new issue. At the end of the year, New Hampshire Bird Records will fully transition to an online publication.
To learn more about this exciting shift, read the Letter from the Editor in the Fall 2024 Issue.