Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Fuzzy Fledgling Sandpiper At The Meadows

I spent some time at Wangunk Meadow this weekend where I compiled a list of species with the intention of submitting it to ebird. the highlight of my morning was to have this fuzzy little fledgling scurry right across the trail I was walking on.  
A few seconds later an adult Spotted Sandpiper emerged from hiding to let me know that I was an intruder so I quickly moved on. The female Spotted Sandpiper is the one who arrives on breeding grounds first to establish and defend territory. The male takes the primary role of parental care during nesting while the female finds other males to breed with. The female gets involved again during the fledgling stage- so maybe this is the female? 
 
There were several Empidonax flycatchers around. I've heard that the best way to tell a Willow Flycatcher from an Alder is by its call so I videotaped several of the calls I heard. One of the calls could clearly be identified as a Willow Flycatcher. The other calls I recorded were different from what I found on the Internet so I can't be sure of their identity. The bird in this photo shows very little eye ring. I'm guessing it's probably a willow.  

8 comments:

Hilke Breder said...

Enjoyable post! Loved the images.

Ruth said...

I have been trying to find some Killdeer fledglings but the little Sandpiper is just as cute. Flycatchers fall in another of my very confusing birds categories along with shorebirds, gulls and greenish-yellowish warblers.

Kathie Brown said...

Oh, Oh, Oh, Love that fuzzy baby! I did not know all that stuff about spotties. I saw one recently up at Quinnebaug Pond/lake/Wauregan Reservoir. I would love to go birding with you sometime Larry! I am in CT right now but headed home tonight. Perhaps next time?

Dawn Fine said...

Cute little fuzz ball and great info on the Sandpipers.

Larry said...

Ruth-Come to think of it-I don't remember seeingbaby killdeer.

I prefer it when different species have an obvious unique mark to tell them apart from others.

Kathie-sure Kathie-just let me know.

troutbirder said...

Cute little peep alright.

Chris said...

Very nice post Larry. Love it especially the first picture...

Lana Gramlich said...

The fledgling's so adorable! We're inundated by cardinal, woodpecker and blue jay babies right now. I love this time of year. :)