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.
