East Pond - 31 Aug

An early start at the East Pond looking to catch up with some more of the shorebirds that migrate through this area. I once again started from the southern end, and slogged my way through sticky mud for several hours, loaded down with scope, camera and bins. Marvelous. I haven't had this much fun in ages! The birds were brilliant, with my first Western Sandpipers almost the first birds I saw. I eventually counted 5, but I'm sure there were many more than that. I also got great views of some very close Stilt Sandpipers (at least 8 present), as well as a couple of Hudsonian Godwits that had been seen earlier in the week. Also present were about 347 Semi-palmated Sandpiper, 90+ Least Sandpiper, 40+ Semi-palmated Plover, 255 Grey (Black-bellied) Plover, 24 White-rumped Sandpiper, 185 Short-billed Dowitcher, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, and singles of Spotted Sandpiper, Turnstone, Dunlin and Red Knot.

Western Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper