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Posted by Toe on 20:23:32 07/29/10
I wanted to get a shorebirding fix before hitting the sod farms so I started early at the Crandon flats. Although there were 5 Piping Plovers, I dipped on Wilson's Plover. Also there were good numbers of Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, two Short-billed Dowitchers, and a Black-bellied Plover. I then searched real hard for a Ruddy Turnstone along Rickenbacker, but no dice. After work, I went straight to the ag fields along the Ingraham Hwy past 217th Ave, but only found a single Spotted Sandpiper.
The best spot was right at the entrance to the Annex. As a result of the C-111 West project, there is a nice puddle with lots of mud. There I found Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Solitary Sandpipers, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers and about the same number of Least Sandpipers, a Western Sandpiper, another Spotted Sandpiper, a Black-necked Stilt, and some Killdeer.
I headed towards Cutler Wetlands via the stair steps area, but found no shorebird habitat along the way. At the big quarry lake on 107 Ave. next to Manny Diaz farm, I added a Lesser Yellowlegs. My last stop was Cutler Wetlands, which still has too much water for most shorebirds. There were Black-necked Stilts, a few Dowitchers, and my only Stilt Sandpiper of the day. It's a real shame we have virtually no shorebird habitat down here. Still, I managed 15 species on a workday. This is just a warm up for a big shorebird day next month!
Here's the day's shorebird list:
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Misses (rats!):
Wilson's Plover (seen at Crandon in June)
Ruddy Turnstone (seen almost everyday except today)
Pectoral Sandpiper (seen in good numbers yesterday!)
Upland Sandpiper (should be here any minute)
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