Solitary Sandpiper

Got a report from fellow neighborhood birder, Jeff. He was interested in the earlier swan story but he also reported a couple other birds in Lake Davis. One really jumped out at me: Solitary Sandpiper.

I was on the way home a couple nights before and thought I had caught a glimpse of a bird that was shorebird shaped out of the corner of my eye. I had to be home at a certain time so I had no time to stop. Luckily Jeff tipped me off because I had about forgotten about it.

I stopped by after I dropped the kids off at school and, sure enough, shorebirds were feeding on the now exposed parts of the lake bottom not far from the sidewalks. Whether it is due to the new mud and flies or winds or the drought drying up other feeding spots, I don't know. I had never noticed shorebirds around Lake Davis in the past.

Now, here was a Life Bird. No, two! A pair of Solitary Sandpipers.



The birds were rather skittish and as soon as I got past a certain point from the sidewalk they would fly a bit farther down the new beach. I vowed to come back at a later date to try again. These shots are actually from the future! Taken a few days after this blog date. I was going to put up worse ones. Whew!



Other shorebirds are showing up, too. Killdeer, Yellowlegs, and Black-necked Stilts. But these Solitary Sandpipers and pretty cool. Love that white eye-ring.



We need the rain but a lowered water level attracting shorebirds is actually kind of nice.