Tringa solitaria

Another great bird today! Humboldt is dishing them out right and left! This is a Solitary Sandpiper, a species that occurs every year in Humboldt County but in very small numbers. Normally this species would winter in Central and South America, migrate up the eastern half of the U.S., and breed in the northern reaches of North America, but to some degree they are found in the west for brief periods during migration. I learned today from a local expert birdperson that the rare Solitary Sandpiper has materialized in the same Arcata pond on April 25th for this year, 2012, and 2010. The same place on the same day, for three out of the last four years. Extraordinary.

The Solitary Sandpiper is usually found alone (as the name might suggest) or sometimes in small groups during migration. They occupy nests abandoned by songbirds, such as thrushes, in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. They bear a strong resemblance to their European cousin, the Green Sandpiper.

This is a new one for me, so to find it in an unusual part of the country made it all that much more exciting. Also out there today were a couple of Wilson's Snipes, some Least Sandpipers looking nice in the afternoon light, and three lovely Barn Owls hunting around dusk. What a fulfilling evening with the birds.


A note on the photo: the line cutting through the bird and its reflection is a barbed wire that was in the foreground. I positioned it to obscure as little of the bird as possible. Hopefully I'll get a clearer shot tomorrow....