Sunday, August 19, 2012

Is it still a 'Grasspiper Slam' if you take 2 days to do it?

After yesterday's epic drive I was looking forward to a day off but it wasn't to be.  Enjoyed a quiet morning until I got a text from Andrew Baksh saying that there was a Baird's Sandpiper at Jamaica Bay.  Given that I'd looked so hard for one yesterday I figured it was worth a try, so off again...

Arrived at the East Pond of Jamaica Bay at 12:45pm.  There were lots of birders leaving the East Pond as I went in and several told me that the Baird's had flown and hadn't been seen in a while.  Pushing on (I'm stubborn) I worked my way North along the East shore of the pond checking all the peeps.  Luck was on my side today and within a half hour I got a call from Andrew Baksh saying that he'd relocated the bird at the North End near the island.   Sure enough, 10 minutes later I caught up with Andrew and the Baird's (NYS 2012# 336).

Baird's Sandpiper in Urban Setting (2 shots)


We also had a curious and perplexing dowitcher.  Everything about it looked Short-billed but it called frequently and every call was a Long-billed call ("Keep" or "pip-pip-pip").  I don't like Dowitchers ...


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