I arrived at 7:50. Since I had been there last week, I knew the action was in one drying pond on the eastern edge so I went straight there with my scope. At least twice before, I’ve been told by personnel that it was okay to drive around the facility but today I entered through the entrance on the eastern edge and saw a sign that said it was a walking tour only. I decided to split the difference and drive the gravel roads and walk to the pond once I ran out of gravel. This pond in just south of the northeastern most pond.
My key find was three White-rumped Sandpipers, a life bird for me. They were larger than the Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and smaller than the Pectoral Sandpipers around them. They had relatively short beaks, dark but not black. They had light brown or light rufous-brown crowns and distinct eye-stripes. Their breasts and bellies were white with a little tan on the sides of shoulder and neck. The wings were mottled and showed similar coloring as the crown. The legs were dark but not black, like the beak. Because of all this, I think they were juveniles. According to the AAS field, this is a very rare fall migrant.
Left at 9:22. I noticed that I had seen no swallows. I wonder if they are starting to migrate away?
Species seen or heard:
• White-rumped Sandpiper
• Lesser Yellowlegs Mourning Dove
• Least Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Plover
• Great Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Green Heron
• Snowy Egret
• Killdeer
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Blue Jay
• Northern Mockingbird
• Fox Squirrel
