Solitary Sandpiper

Top Photo: Solitary sandpiper feeds on north side of wetlands. The only shorebirds I’ve seen here at the museum are spotted sandpiper, killdeer and solitary sandpiper. Both spotted and solitary drop in on their respective ways north and south while migrating. I don’t see them every year. They’re more likely to stop in when the water’s low enough to expose mud along the edges of the pond. Though I have viewed them each briefly when the only thing above waterRead more

A Lone Sandpiper

We had a brief visit by a Solitary Sandpiper last week. I’ve recorded only three species of shorebirds in our little wetlands, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers and Killdeer. Solitary Sandpipers are the most frequent visitors and that’s what showed up last week. You may remember when two years ago a solitary wandered in to our wetlands and nearly became dinner for a bullfrog. In fact, two solitaries dropped in that year due to the very low water levels, exposing theRead more

Spotted Sandpiper

A Spotted Sandpiper stopped in at the Museum on Saturday (4/7/11). We don’t often see shorebirds at the Museum, so whenever one does show up it’s worth mentioning. Spotted Sandpipers are one of four species I would expect to see here. The other three shorebirds likely to be seen are Solitary Sandpiper, Killdeer, and Least Sandpiper. All but the latter have been seen. I’m waiting patiently for the Least Sandpipers to arrive!Read more

Looking Back: Birds

With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Below, in the appropriate segments, I give totals for some of the species seen since January of last year. There were 101 species of bird observed during 2008 at the Museum including such unlikely species as Double-crested Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-heron, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Osprey, Bald Eagle (3), and Northern Harrier. All of those species wereRead more

Mallard Surprise, Hawks Fledge

Top Photo: Wood thrush. A total surprise was a female Mallard with 7 ducklings in tow. I hadn’t seen a Mallard in the Wetlands for several weeks, other than the always present Mutt Duck (black and white female that’s been hanging around – mallard x domestic duck). On the 25th, both a male and female Mallard (the male molting and looking much like the female) were feeding alongside the Wetlands Overlook. As I stood there wondering where they’d come from,Read more