Decent OC Shorebirding, 08/11/18

~Semipalmated Plover at Skinner Lane, 08/11/18.~

I got out a little later than normal (for me on a Saturday morning). With the rainy weather, I decided to check the Black Dirt Region for shorebirds. My expectations were relatively low, so I was pleasantly surprised to locate 6 different species of shorebirds: Killdeer, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plovers, and my best shorebird of the day – an early BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. My two other highlights from the day occurred at Pine Island Turf Nursery, where I  had pair of SANDHILL CRANES fly over, and a distant CLIFF SWALLOW feeding on the ground in one of the fields. *Please remember that birding PI Turf Nursery is by permission only – stop at the office to ask if it’s okay.* All in all, I enjoyed an unexpectedly good day of birding.

~BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER at Skinner Lane. For fall migration, this bird was the earliest on eBird, beating reports by myself and Karen Miller back in 2013 by two days.~
~This pair of SANDHILL CRANES seem to be making the rounds. This was a flyover at Pine Island Turf Nursery; the birds were heading north towards the black dirt..~
~This juvenile bird was one of two Semipalmated Plovers  at Skinner Lane, 08/11/18.~

 

~Tree Swallows perched out at the Pine Island Turf Nursery. I had four species of swallow (Tree, Barn, Bank, and CLIFF), as well as a single Chimney Swift, 08/11/18.~

 

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