Spring 2011 Shorebirds

As a new birder, who had only been serious about birdwatching for a little less than a year, I had seen few shorebirds when the year began and even fewer in Illinois. One of my birding goals for the year was to see some new shorebird species. Thanks to a tip from Les Allen, I was able to see American Woodcocks for the first time at Ewing Park in early March. Les and I saw more of them together at Ewing and Angler's Pond. Unfortunately, every time I saw them, they were flying away after I had flushed them. I quickly realized that when Woodcocks flush, they usually don't land anywhere nearby, but keep on going. So most of what I saw was orange tail feathers. I also saw Wilson's Snipes fly away on a few occasions in early April, but the looks I got of the Woodcocks were better. On one of the occasions, the Snipe was at Eastview Christian Church. There were flooded fields on both sides of the church drive. I had stopped there on April 2 with Les Allen, Angelo Capparella, Dale Birkenholz, and Ted Hartzler after an on the way to Henline Pit after an Audubon Society bird walk at Ewing Park.

On April 7, I went to Funks Grove, IL hoping to see the Pileated Woodpecker which had been reported by Angela Funk. After a somewhat disappointing day in bad light, I left Sugar Grove Nature Center. On the drive through the woods from the Center, I saw a bird on the road. I was about to keep driving assuming I would flush the bird when I noticed that the bird was walking funny bobbing its head forward and backward before each step. I slowed to a stop and tried to photograph the Woodcock from my car, but it walked off the road into the leaves. I got out of my car and was able to photograph the bird from the road even though it blended in very well with the leaves. The Woodcock even displayed for me briefly.









On April 11, I went back to the fields at Easview Church on the way to work in the morning and was surprised to find Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a Pectoral Sandpiper. I also got my first good looks of Wilson's Snipes from the car. On the way home, I returned to the fields. Unfortunately the Yellowlegs and Sandpiper were no longer there, but I was able to get some pictures of the Snipes.













One of the birds I hoped to see this year was an American Golden-Plover, which would be another lifer for me if I could find them. With all the rain we had early this Spring, the lakes were too full for Shorebirds. Les Allen advised me to keep my eyes open for flooded fields. On the way to work one morning I found a flock of about twenty American Golden-Plovers in a large flooded corn field just off of N 400 East Road just North of Highway 24. Most of them were in non-breeding or intermediate plumage like the one below. This would prove to be a great location for Shorebirds for weeks to come.



The next day I visited the same location. The Plovers were gone, but there were quite a few Lesser Yellowlegs.









On April 28, I went to Centennial Park with Dale Birkenholz and Les Allen after we had birded at Funks Grove. We saw quite a few species including Green Herons, Palm, Yellow, and Yellow Rumped Warblers, and a Common Moorhen. That evening I returned by myself hoping to get some pictures of the Moorhen. Not only did I get some identification photos of the Moorhen. I also was able to get very close to a couple of Spotted Sandpipers.



















The next day Les and I went back to see the Moorhen again and ran into Matthew Winks. After a nice morning of birding, Les and I left Centennial Park, but we stopped at a flooded field South of Heyworth to look for some Shorebirds before heading home. Les got his scope out and located a couple of Dowitchers, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. When we got back in the car and started driving past the field, we noticed a large number of Pectoral Sandpipers in the water close to the road, allowing a nice photo op.



















On May 2, I stopped by the flooded field in Flanagan and was surprised to see not only Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, but also Long-billed Dowitchers.





























The next day when I stopped there again, I had a new quarry. There were Pectorals and there were still Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. The Dowitchers were gone, but there were four drab looking larger birds. I photographed them from the car until they flew away. That's when I noticed from their beautiful wing patterns that they were Willets.

























I returned again the next day and got some close up shots of Pectorals. Later the same day I saw a Solitary Sandpiper in the lawn at Salem Ranch where I work.





















On May 7, on a walk with my clients, I photographed this Solitary Sandpiper flying over the ponds at Salem Ranch. Then on May 10, while the boys were having softball practice, I saw a brood of Killdeer chicks near the horse arena.







On the way home the same evening, I stopped at the Gridley Sewage Lagoons and observed a flock of American Golden-Plovers grazing in the grass by the water, mostly in breeding plumage.





















On June 1, I stopped by the field in Flanagan once more and took some shots of these White-rumped and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Thanks to Matt Fraker for help with identification.

















All in all it was a nice Spring for Shorebirds. White-rumped, Semipalmated, Pectoral Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, American Golden-Plover, Wilson's Snipe, and American Woodcock were all lifers for me. Willet and Lesser Yellowlegs were State birds and there were several new McLean and Livingston County birds as well. Being a new birder is exciting, but I realize that finding new Shorebirds from here will be increasingly challenging. If you would like to see more of my pictures, click on any of the photos above. This will take you to my Flickr page where you can view more Shorebirds and other birds.

Written and published on July 4, 2011