Whitesbog 4/29--Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

 I have found that if I don't feel like going to certain section of a place I'm birding, it's usually a good idea to ignore that feeling and go. Today, walking around Union Pond at Whitesbog, instead of turning right when I came back out onto the bogs, I turned left, even though my first impression scanning the little mudflats, was that nothing was on them. I was wrong, of course. First, I saw a Killdeer, no excitement there, but it had eluded me in the glare from the west side of the pond. Next to it was a shorebird and I immediately saw that it was a Solitary Sandpiper. A little early, perhaps, but as it happens, exactly one year ago I saw the same species there.  

The bird flew off the mudflat it was sharing with the Killdeer to one about 10 feet away and with it a little flock of Least Sandpipers swooped in. We "had" Least Sandpiper in Mexico earlier this month, but these were Jersey Least Sandpipers. So, had I followed my inclination and just turned right, I'd have missed both those species. And what persuaded me besides a Constanza-like contrariness? The fact that I wanted to take a longer walk than usual today and going left probably added about three-quarters of a mile to my hike. 

It was a good day there: 42 species in all, plus I had a long chat with my informant and made his dog very happy scratching him under the chin (the dog, not my informant). 

Canada Goose  15
Wood Duck  6
Mallard  13
Mourning Dove  5
Killdeer  1
Solitary Sandpiper  1     
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Least Sandpiper  8     
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     Heard village
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
White-eyed Vireo  3
American Crow  2
Fish Crow  4
Common Raven  1     Croaking
Carolina Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  3
Purple Martin  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3
Northern House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  2
Gray Catbird  5
Brown Thrasher  2
American Robin  1
American Goldfinch  1
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  3
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  3
Red-winged Blackbird  30
Common Grackle  8
Ovenbird  10
Black-and-white Warbler  5
Common Yellowthroat  20
Pine Warbler  3
Prairie Warbler  7
Northern Cardinal  1