More Shorebirds

 

March 27th

          This morning we stayed close to home again.  We went to the recently acquired Sandhill Crane Wetlands.  This was low-lying farmland that was recently purchased by The Nature Conservancy.  They brought in bulldozers, removed the field tiles and are allowing the land to revert to what was historically the Great Black Swamp.  This has already attracted waterfowl and shorebirds and hopefully soon Sandhill Cranes.

          We saw three new shorebirds, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers. These birds are migrating through our area on the way to their arctic breeding grounds. We also saw more Wilson’s Snipe and Blue-winged Teal.

          Next, we went to the Oak Openings Metropark and saw a few good birds but nothing new.  (3 new species, total 139)

          Greater Yellowlegs

          Lesser Yellowlegs (scarce)

          Pectoral Sandpiper   

                                                   Pectoral Sandpipers

                                                     Lesser Yellowlegs

                                                     Blue-winged Teal

                                           Field Sparrow at Oak Openings




      

Comments

  1. John SobetzerMarch 28, 2022 at 6:47 AM

    The Great Black Swamp sounds interesting. When the cranes come it might be a good time to re-read Aldo Leopold's Marshland Elegy section in his book Sand County Almanac.

    ReplyDelete

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