I was up and out very early this morning; I was rewarded with an enjoyable and productive morning of shorebirding in the black dirt region. I covered a good amount of territory and there were several other birders out looking for shorebirds as well. For the morning I had a total of 9 species of shorebirds, with one clear highlight: Bruce Nott found a RUDDY TURNSTONE way out in a puddle, in a field at the intersection of Pierce Circle and Lynch Avenue. It was another great find by Bruce and I believe it was only my second Ruddy Turnstone ever in Orange County. Less rare but still very impressive was the 45 or so Dunlin at the Camel Farm; they were originally located by Jeanne Cimorelli yesterday.
- Killdeer: 25+
- Semipalmated Plover: 5
- Short-billed Dowitcher: 2
- Spotted Sandpiper: 4
- Lesser Yellowlegs: 3
- Greater Yellowlegs: 4
- Dunlin: 45
- Least Sandpiper: 8
- RUDDY TURNSTONE: 1
Matt, that it was a lot of fun this morning. Thanks so much for letting me know about those great birds. I really like this dowitcher shots! I went by the camel farm right afterwards and didn’t find a single dunlin, so maybe they all left…
It really was a lot of fun. Glad you got the turnstone (and the dowitchers!)’; too bad about the Dunlin. Good to see you. Matt