Photo Study Of A Curlew Sandpiper And Other Birds At The Heislerville WMA May 25th, 2010

We went to the Heislerville WMA yesterday to try to see the reported Ruff. Alas, we missed it, although it was still being seen far back in the phragmites of the 2nd Impoundment. However, we were treated to a very pleasant surprise while searching through the seven to eight thousand Semipalmated Sandpipers, Dunlins and Short-billed Dowitchers in the 1st Impoundment. About 6:15PM, Jeff Skevington and his dad, visitors from Ontario, spotted a male Curlew Sandpiper.

The Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a small wader (8 inches) that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. Also, it is similar in  size and shape to the Dunlin, but its entire bill is noticeably curved.. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia as well as Australia. Fortunately, it is an occasional vagrant to North America. (From Wikpedia and audubonguides.com)

I was able to get some decent photos of this beautiful bird and a few of the other shorebirds as well.  

Male Curlew Sandpiper

Male Curlew Sandpiper

Red Knots

Cooper's Hawk Guarding Starling Kill On Road Into The Heislerville WMA
 

Please click on either the thumbnails or the captions to see a larger image of the birds below...thanks!

 © Howard B. Eskin 2010                                Please email your comments to hbeskin@voicenet.com             Please click here to go back to Bird Webpage Index