Shorebird Season
Very excited to put my shorebird skills to the test this fall. Traveled to Holland SP to try and bag Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, both species I still need for this year. While the Semipalmated was gone by the time I arrived, a Sanderling had taken its place. Completely unafraid of people, it didn't mind foraging in the rocks where hundreds of people were walking.
My sister (who has an ebird account but not an iNat profile) loves these guys, so I'm trying to help her get her list up this season. She had already spotted a Sanderling with my friends and I at Tawas Point last spring, but it was in breeding plumage then. Took this opportunity to explain how the paleness of this species is a very useful field mark.
While the Sanderling wasn't a lifer for her, two Least Sandpipers were. My initial plan was to scan the rocks at the pier we walked at for shorebirds, but considering the amount of people present today, I realized most would be on the pier parallel to us (where people couldn't walk).
I had experience scanning the further pier with my scope when looking for ducks, but looking for shorebirds is a whole other game. After scanning a couple of times, I found two peeps foraging among the rocks. Being so tiny and so far away, it was going to be a hard call whether or not they were Semipalmated or Least. Thankfully, they began to walk on the pier itself, and I got a better look at them. I could just barely make out a couple of field marks, but it was enough where I was confident to call it. They stuck around a little bit, and I was able to show my sister, who added a new shorebird to her life list that day.
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