mattzeit

Sunday Shots, 08/31/25

I didn’t get out all that much over the past couple of days, but when I did, I got lucky and made the best of it. On Saturday evening (I didn’t get out in the morning), I birded the black dirt and had some shorebird success. I had (9) distant American Golden Plovers at my first location. Then, on my way to my second location, I saw a Black Bear on the road! Ant then, at my second and final location, I had an additional (29) American Golden Plovers. They were doing their flocking, whipping around the black dirt thing, which is so enjoyable to watch and photograph.

~American Golden-Plovers in the black dirt, 08/30/25.~

~AMGPs whipping around the Black Dirt Region, 08/30/25.~

~One more shot of the American Golden-Plovers in the Black Dirt Region on Saturday night, 08/30/25.~

~A Black Bear moseys down a dirt road in the Black Dirt Region, 08/30/25.~

This morning I went to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary first thing. I got lucky with a distant Sora that kept coming out into the opening. I only had my 400mm lens, so I tried to document by digiscoping with my phone; here is the result. Good bird, terrible photo. I was pretty happy to see a Sora; it’s been several years I believe, since I last saw one. Afterwards, I headed up to Mount Peter to participate in the annual cleanup. Hawkwatch starts this week; I have to say I’m pretty excited.

~Digiscoped image of Sora at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 08/31/25.~

~White-tailed Deer fawn in the black dirt, 08/30/25.~

Sunday Shots, 08/24/25

After last night’s Uppy excitement, today was relatively uneventful. Kyle Knapp let me know early in the day that he had (3) Baird’s Sandpipers in the black dirt; I eventually caught up with those birds later in the morning alongside Bev, Rich, and Diane. There was young birder there as well; it was only his second trip to the black dirt. We got him on the birds and it was a lifer for him, so that was exciting. I did some running around prior to that, hoping for more shorebirds. At 6 1/2 Station Road I had just (8) Least Sandpipers; Bullville Pond had high water levels and just a single Spotted Sandpiper. The platform at Liberty Marsh had a similar situation with high water and no shorebirds at all. As always, I took photos as I went, so here’s the latest batch.

~Horned Lark in nice light in the black dirt 08/23/25.~

~Great Blue Heron at Echo Lake, 08/23/25.~

~Upland Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/23/25.~

~Upland Sandpipers can make some quirky movements – here’s one caught in a funny position in the Black Dirt Region, 08/23/25. ~

~This image is from a couple weeks back, but I never got around to posting it. Least Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/11/25.~

~There are MANY Bobolinks on the move right now. I seemed to hear them everywhere I went this weekend. BOBO in the black dirt 08/24/25.~

Upland Sandpiper, 08/23/25

I didn’t get out this morning, so this evening I followed up on several reports of an UPLAND SANDPIPER from earlier in the day. I was hoping to get some better looks than I did a couple of weeks ago. Well, mission accomplished! I got super lucky with an Upland Sandpiper very close to the road. The bird flushed from some longer grasses as I approached in my car. It posed for a short time right in front of me, and then worked its way along the side of a turf field. It was probably the best/longest Uppy observation that I’ve had, and I was excited and thrilled.

~Upland Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region, 08/23/25.~

Good Shorebirding, 08/19/25

QUICK POST: I played a hunch and ran out to the Black Dirt Region after work this evening. I got lucky and was able to locate a single BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, along with two American Golden-Plovers. The birds were distant and mostly backlit, but still it was a thrill to see them. I put the word out and Silas Wareham and Jeanne Cimorelli both ran for the birds and got them. On a personal note, this evening put me over the 200 bird mark in Orange County for the year, with birds #200 and #201. Pics were tough, but I tried my best to document.

~Always a thrill to see this bird. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER in the black dirt, 08/19/25.~

~One of two American Golden-Plovers in the black dirt tonight, o8/19/25.~

~Buff-breasted Sandpiper and American Golden-Plover in the BDR, 08/19/25.~

Young Horned Larks

I went out to the black dirt three nights this week, and again this morning, hoping for shorebirds of course. Unfortunately, notable shorebirds were not in the cards; the only shorebirds I found were Killdeer (many!), a handful of Least Sandpipers, and a single Semipalmated Sandpiper. As a consolation prize, on a couple of evenings I spent some time with some young Horned Larks. I think they have a fantastic look at this age – it’s obvious that they are larks, but at the same time they look like an entirely different bird. The photos with the nice golden look were taken on 08/11/25 and the others were taken on 08/14/25.

UPLAND SANDPIPER, 08/10/25

I finally got lucky and found an UPLAND SANDPIPER in the Black Dirt Region this morning. Unfortunately, the bird was absolutely miles out in a field, so pics were very tough (click here to see what an Uppy actually looks like). The bird was jumpy, and I felt like at any moment it might come closer, but, frustratingly, it kept taking short flights and getting further away instead. During one longer flight, the bird was calling while in flight, so that was pretty cool. Several folks came out for the bird; I know a few got it and a few were still trying to relocated it when I finally left.

~Terrible, distant photos, but what can you do? Upland Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region, 08/10/25.~

~Upland Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/10/25.~

OC Baird’s Sandpiper 08/05/25

QUICK POST: I made an impromptu trip to the black dirt this evening after work, hoping for maybe an Upland Sandpiper. It was a beautiful evening with an eerie light due to the smoke in the air from the wildfires in Canada. There were loads of Killdeer to keep my interest up, and although I came up empty regarding the Uppy, I was able to locate a single BAIRD’S SANDPIPER associating with a small flock of Killdeer in a grassy field.

~Baird’s Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/05/25.~

~One more look at the BASA in the black dirt, 08/05/25.~

Sunday Shots, 08/03/25

Well, there wasn’t much happening this weekend with one exception: On Saturday morning, in the black dirt, I relocated a DICKCISSEL that Bruce Nott had originally found on Thursday morning but hadn’t been seen since. It was a nice surprise for me – I figured that bird was a one-hit wonder for sure. Otherwise, not much was going on, so I’m supplementing this weeks shots with some recent shots from my back yard. Hopefully things will really start to pick up this coming week.

~Dickcissel in the black dirt. Nice find by Bruce Nott; I was happy to catch up with it this weekend.~

~I don’t really like this photo, but I can’t remember ever seeing and photographing a Spotted Sandpiper chick before, so I wanted to include it. I took this on Saturday morning and went back to the same location on Sunday, but there was no sign of the young sandpiper. ~

~Eastern Phoebe in our yard on 07/25/25.~

Orange County Sanderling, 07/31/25

With the weather moving in today, I knew I wanted to check the Black Dirt Region for shorebirds after work this evening. It was mostly quiet until I found a single field with a decent sized collection of shorebirds, maybe 40 or so birds. One bird stood out immediately; I did what I could to document it before the rain came down in full force. While I sat in my car in the rain, I put the word out and sent photos. John Haas responded very quickly, identifying the bird as a SANDERLING. Sanderling was on my short list, but I certainly wasn’t sure about it. Big thanks to John and everyone that weighed in. Other species present were Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, and Killdeer. I’ll leave you with this reminder: BAD WEATHER = GOOD BIRDS = TERRIBLE PICS.

~Sanderling in the black dirt, 07/31/25.~

~Semipalmated Plover in an absolute downpour. Black Dirt Region 07/31/25.~

Sunday Shots -An Overdose of Cuteness, 07/27/25

On Saturday morning I birded the area, hoping for some new fall shorebird arrivals. Unfortunately, I did not add any new species to my list from last week, and I had a total of only 4 shorebird species.

Black Dirt: Killdeer
Camel Farm: Killdeer and Least Sandpipers (2)
Liberty Marsh Platform: Solitary Sandpipers (2)
Beaver Pond: Killdeer and Solitary Sandpipers (5)
Bullville Pond: Killdeer, Least Sandpipers (2), Solitary Sandpipers (2), and Spotted Sandpiper (1)
6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary: Killdeer and Least Sandpipers (2)

The highlight for me was spending some quality time with a young Killdeer foraging under a sprinkler in the black dirt, so I’ll leave you with an overdose of cuteness. All photos taken on 07/26/25 in the Black Dirt Region.