Last weekend Art and I took a drive while the kids were watching a movie up at Hasty Brook. We turned off the county road onto a minimum maintenance road that we'd explored before. After barely a mile we turned a corner to find the road under water. We stopped to look around a bit and see how deep the water was when Art spotted a bird walking through the shallow water far up ahead. I got my bins on it but couldn't get a very good look. As I was getting back into the truck Art whispered that it was flying our way. I got a few pictures and jotted down some field marks. I do not know shorebirds. At all. When I got home I looked through my field guides and thought I was pretty sure it was a solitary sandpiper- pretty sure. I emailed this picture around to a few people and Birdchick confirmed my id! One down, about 50 to go! Maybe I CAN learn a few shorebirds. The kids and I stopped into Half Price Books, my favorite used books store this afternoon and I found a used copy of the Stokes Beginners Guide to Shorebirds. I have two months before my Cape May trip. Maybe I can learn a couple more by then.
16 comments:
What a lovely shot of the lone sandpiper walking along. I love his bright eye.
Thank you Hap in New Hope also for weighing in on the solitary sandpiper! I tried to edit this post but blogger threatend to take all of my text away again...
Hi Lynne,
If you go to the MOU website and
checkout the "showcase", you will
see two more solitary sandpipers
for comparison. Keep up the great
work--get lots of pics at the
sparrow workshop!
Hap in New Hope
Lovely bird. Hey, don't you have to study sparrows first? You are going to be one bird expert before this is over.
Good, you can stand next to me at Cape May and be my shorebird consultant. All I know about shorebirds is: Killdeer and Not-killdeer.
~Kathi, hopelessly lost with long-legged birds on the beach
Wow, you are really getting some great shots! I don't know shorebirds either but this one is a beauty.
Congratulations on the ID Lynne. I would have been clueless. :c)
That's a great picture Lynne!
(BTW, doesn't it kind of freak you out when you're driving down a road and all of a sudden it's under water? We did that once in Wisconsin and after we got to the other side--it wasn't very deep--we saw a sign that said "road closed due to high water." Too bad they forgot to put a sign at both ends of the road!)
That's a Sandpiper that has a nice fieldmark with that eye ring.They should all come with a decent field mark.-Glad you got a good look at it and a photo to go with it!
Well hopefully I will have some of my pictures and hints that I learned at the shorebird workshop, in South Dakota, posted before you go to Cape May. It may help a bit. Sharon is a great sorce for help but if you would like you can e-mail me and I will try to help as much as I can. My e-mail address is Tiercel63@yahoo.com
A great picture. I learned to ID a few shorebirds during breeding season. This month they are wearing new feathers!
Learned a new bird, and got a GREAT shot. What a day!
Don't fret, Lynne. If memory serves, shorebirds will have pretty much pushed through Cape May by the time we get there. There are still some to see, but they will be in winter drab, which makes them all look the same.
But bone up on your warblers. And sparrows. And RAPTORS!
Grrrreat photo! You might be surprised to learn that I have a Solitary Sandpiper on my life list. Well, I don't have a life list, but I've seen and photographed one... :o)
NICE!!
Shorebirds are pretty. I love the long legged ones, in a way they look very elegant ;)
Dear Lynne,
Sparrows, Warblers and now Shore Birds! Not only will you be a bird expert you will have fantastic photos to go with! It is fun when you get the picture and the id!
Sherry
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