McLean County Upland Sandpipers at M & M Turf Sod Farm

On Thursday evening, May 11, Les Allen and I drove to Lake Bloomington, hoping to see one of the Virginia Rails seen by Dale Birkenholz and Lenore Sabota at the Money Creek bridge during the Spring Bird Count. Virginia Rail would have been a lifer for me and a year bird for Les, but we did not see or hear one. We did hear a Marsh Wren, and we did see a Warbling Vireo and a Prothonotary Warbler, but no Virginia Rails. I had mentioned checking the sod farm for Upland Sandpipers earlier, but when we were leaving the bridge, I mentioned checking Evergreen Lake for rails before we returned home. So we were on our way to Evergreen when Les mentioned the sod farm again, and we chose the sod farm over Evergreen.

Upland Sandpiper had been on my most wanted list since last summer. Les and I searched for one at the Saybrook Habitat Area last June and again during Spring Bird Count this year with no success. I had also done some searching on my own last year, driving by numerous bean fields without result. This year when I went to Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, I was told where one was seen the previous day. I stopped by the location several times with Carrie but came up empty.

When we arrived at M & M Turf, Les began scanning the sod with his binoculars from the car. He was checking robins and starlings way out in the field when I noticed a bird just ahead, standing on the sod very close to the road. "Is that a Mourning Dove?" I asked. Les got his binoculars on the bird, "That's an Upland!" I pulled the car up very slowly, and turned the ignition off, but after I snapped a couple of poorly lit photos from the car, the bird suddenly flew away.

The next morning, I stopped by hoping to see and photograph the bird in better light, but rather than an Upland Sandpiper, I found a Cooper's Hawk. "I hope it didn't eat the Upland," I thought. I returned again in the evening after work. I drove by the sod fields and turned around. On my way back, I noticed two Upland Sandpipers, which seemed to have come up out of the ditch, again in the sod right next to the road. They were calling to each other, and they both gradually walked a little further into the field to distance themselves from me. They were still in the field when I left that evening. I am including a gallery of the sandpipers below. This bird was ABA #289, Illinois #239, and McLean County #224 for me. Thanks Les for your help with this one!















The second sandpiper did not appear to have much of an eye ring.



Notice the first bird's foot in this photo. My wife Carrie thought this one was funny for some reason.



And finally . . . a video of the first sandpiper calling to the other sandpiper.