Whitesbog 7/30--Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper

 Possible subtitles for this entry:

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

      Or

Half a Loaf Is Better Than None.

The former because the Lower Bog at Whitesbog has been drawn down and it didn't take any time at all for the shorebirds and waders to find it and start feeding in the mud and the shallow channel of Cranberry Run. The latter because it looks like only the Lower Bog will be drawn down this season, since the extremely dry weather has made it necessary for the farmer to hold onto his water for the harvest season when he'll use it to flood the cranberry bogs. Even drawing down the Lower Bog was done differently than usual. In the past, as a favor, the farmer will pull a few boards in the sluice gates (this is 19th century technology) and in a couple of days the water is flows out into the stream and is gone. This year he pumped out the water and moved it to a dry area where he can store it for later. 

The Lower Bog as low as it gets

For the last few days, I've been walking around the bogs and Ditch Meadow, watching as the shorebird population slowly built up. As an example: Wednesday: 0 Semipalmated Plovers. Thursday: 5. Friday: 15. Today: 33. I also found a White-rumped Sandpiper in the bog yesterday, which, happily, continued today when I scanned the mud and hummocks with Jim, Matt, & Steve. (Shari refers to us as "The Bog Boys.") Along with the White-rump and Semi Plos, we saw the expected species: Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Killdeers, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, along with two birds that were new for me for the year--4 Pectoral Sandpipers and at least one Western Sandpiper.  

The Pectorals are expected at Whitesbog but since they aren't found in large numbers around here, are always a welcome addition to the list. The Western Sandpiper (possibly 2) is a much rarer find and one that, by myself, I probably would not have found. Once Jim spotted it, deeper in the water than the surrounding Least and Semis, we four had a long discussion as to whether or not it was actually a Western. Part of the problem was that in that bog, no matter where you stand, the birds are equidistant from you, emphasis on the distant. So, in the harsh sunlight, it's difficult to get a really sharp look at any one bird, especially one that likes to skitter around and go out of sight. But with its longer curved bill, larger head, and distinctive feeding behavior, we finally came to this consensus: It had to be something; it wasn't a Least or Semi; it wasn't anything exotic (Occam's Razor was mentioned); ergo: Western Sandpiper. There was another bird near it, similar in appearance but not so much in behavior that may or may not have been another. We had to let that one go. 

We'll see how long the season lasts. Historically, the grass grows very fast in that bog, which is a double-edged sword--too dry for the shorebirds, but good habitat for the highly-desired "grasspipers." (Last year a Baird's Sandpiper was in that bog.) But by the time that bog gets played out, we have the Middle Bog to scan (the Upper Bog, alas, has not been drawn down for the last few years), and that bog offers both better vantage points and better habitat. This year, without it being drawn down, evaporation alone has taken a toll and exposed some mounds of sand and grass where I've found a few shorebirds, but evaporation isn't going to bring it down to mud--if it does, we have much bigger problems than hydrology.