Resolved to count (rather than estimate) the shorebirds in the s. Northampton
Co. fields, I went back out quickly yesterday evening and counted:
Killdeer 29
Black-bellied Plover 18
Semipalmated Plover 106
Lesser Yellowlegs 85 (5 juvs.)
Greater Yellowlegs 48 (yesterday's was probably an overestimate!)
Stilt Sandpiper 11
Pectoral Sandpiper 84
Short-billed Dowitcher 23
Western Sandpiper 0 (gone)
Least Sandpiper 5 (not present yesterday; calling in flight)
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 juv.
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 0 (gone)
The fields were drier than yesterday, and I expect the numbers of birds were
a bit lower. There is no real rain in the forecast, so I don't expect
improvements in these numbers, though I haven't checked the low areas around
Birdsnest (or farther north), which I hope to check this weekend. No sign of
yesterday's potential Baird's Sandpiper, which is a very scarce species down
this way.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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