Reed's Sod Farm 8/29--Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper

I can think of a few ways of birding (pelagics, sea-watching in winter, birding by helicopter) that I like less than "sod-farming," but I would never consider doing them, whereas, occasionally, I just have to grit my teeth, gird my loins, summon up what little patience I have, and stand on a busy road, scoping dirt for an hour or two. 

Late August into September are when the "grasspipers" tend to show up on the sod farms that are sprinkled around Upper Freehold. Usually I don't bother going up there because almost all of the rarities you'll find there show up at Whitesbog, too. However, this year, due to the dry conditions, the bogs there remain full, in reserve (they are reservoirs) for the cranberry harvest. Hence, no shorebird season there. 

Even still, I wouldn't necessarily go up there. I dislike standing on the side of a road as cars and big trucks zoom by a couple of feet away from me, disrupting my scope view and my so-called concentration. I dislike standing still waiting for a rarity to climb up out of a little depression in the dirt (it is amazing how hilly these supposedly flat sod farms are when you're looking for a small bird). And they're always far away. And they tend to be skittish. And the landmarks you're given by other birders usually make no sense. But Upland Sandpiper drew me to the sod farm on York Road. Since I don't go onto the naval base in Lakehurst anymore, my only chance to see an uppie is when they decide to migrate and sporadically show up in odd places. 

I got up to Herbert Road fairly early this morning and parked in the Union Transportation Trail lot--that's another problem with sod farming, parking is usually difficult. I walked down Herbert about 4/10 of a mile to a field on the north side of the road, one that I'd never seen stripped of grass. A couple of other birders were already there and fairly quickly they got me on the 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers that were in the field. Those, for some reason, I figured would stay. The uppie I had few expectations of seeing, since they tend to be a bit more flighty, but you definitely won't see one if you don't go. Before long, one of the birders found the uppie. A couple of other birders came along, and they too found the uppie. Eventually, everyone found the uppie, either flying with the buffies or standing in the grass beyond the dirt. Everyone but me. No matter where I looked, the bird had just moved. No matter what landmarks I was given (dark trunk, tall blade of grass, blue box), I couldn't find the bird. And since I am a believer that effort expended is in inverse proportion to value, I gave up. I walked up and down the UTT, just to get my steps in. Nothing very interesting bird-wise was going on.

I went back to the same spot on Herbert Road. A fresh set of birders were there. They excitedly told me about the buffies. Then someone found the Upland Sandpiper. Here we go again. A guy next to me had the bird in his scope. I looked at it (yay) then tried to find it in my scope, because you know, it isn't official until you see it in your own scope. I scanned back and forth on the edge where the dirt dipped down to grass and could not find the bird. Checked his scope again. Scanned back and forth until I determined I hadn't gone far enough right. Found the damn bird. Took a lousy digiscope of it. Left.

Three American Golden-Plovers were reported a different field about 3 miles away. I thought about it. Nah.