Pectoral Sandpiper

[kastern]

This afternoon I saw a Sandpiper down at the edge of the grasslands. I was actually trying to get a good look at one of the many sparrows (I think Savannah's) that are down there right now but disappear into the grass all the time. I saw one of these sparrows land and right where it landed I saw this shorebird peek out from behind a clump of grass. It was all by itself, worked it's way down the bank to the edge of the water but didn't actually go in the water. When it saw me it 'crouched' until it felt comfortable and it then proceeded to move very slowly along the edge of the water. It's legs were definitely greenish in color. I got these pictures and have cropped them even more in an attempt to get a definite ID. It was larger than the little 'peep' types.




Kathy

[Dave]

Nice bird, Kathy! Clearly a Pectoral. Do they show up often?

DB

[Gord]

Nice sighting!

Good observations as well. The 'crouching' bit is classic pectoral sandpiper behaviour. They seem to like to hide until you get too close then they fly away; often not giving one too much chance to see them.

[kastern]

In response to the question of if they show up often - the answer is no. This is only the second time I have seen them in the area. The first time was about 3 years ago when a small flock of them (6 or 7) were in the same area. Mind you, judging by the secretative nature of the one I saw yesterday, they could well be there, and we just haven't seen them.

Kathy