In mid to late Summer in McLean County Lake Bloomington and the South end of Evergreen Lake produced some good mudflat for shorebirds. There were plenty of Pectoral, Solitary, Spotted, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers. At Lake Bloomington, the mudflat could be accessed by hiking the trails next to the Hinthorn Chapel. Evergreen Lake dried up so much that you had to hike the Barred Owl Trail (formerly Mallard Cove Trail) to view the shorebirds.
As Evergreen continued to dry up and the grass grew up on the flat at Lake Bloomington, it became more difficult to view shorebirds from the South end of Evergreen and at Lake Bloomington. However, a nice mudflat formed on the Southeast side of Evergreen. This is where numerous Caspian Terns and a couple of Black Terns began to roost. On August 25, I had three Stilt Sandpipers on this flat. I had to take my shoes and socks off and wade out into the shallow lake to get these shots.
Also present were these Semipalmated Sandpipers.
Other than Spotted Sandpipers, there were very few shorebirds at Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds during the summer, but on August 30, I checked the ponds for Buff-breasted or Baird's Sandpiper, which were both there on August 30 of last year. There were no Buff-breasted on August 30 this year, but the Baird's was right on schedule. I saw it all by itself on the Northwest pond just as I was about to leave the facility.
Before I left, I saw the Baird's taking a bath.
The next day, I returned to the ponds a couple of times and saw the Baird's taking another bath.
Also present were Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers. Here are a few shots of the Semipalmated Sandpipers, including bathing shots.
And here are a couple of the Leasts. One of them is preening after a bath.
And here is a shot of both for comparison.
Lo and behold, the peeps were not the only Sandpipers. I was surprised to find this Stilt Sandpiper--the first I had ever seen at Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds.
I finished with a nice variety of shorebirds at the Gridley ponds on August 31.
Killdeer 25
Spotted Sandpiper 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 5
Baird's Sandpiper 1
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Here are a couple more peep shots from Gridley on September 4.
On September 5, I found something different, but I had better lighting to photograph this American Golden-plover the next day.
This guy hung around for several days, and a juvenile American Golden-plover was hanging out with him on September 8.
On September 14, the adult golden-plover was still around, and I had a nice variety of shorebirds, including this Solitary Sandpiper.
Here is a list of the shorebirds I saw that day.
American Golden-Plover 1
Killdeer 17
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 3
Baird's Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 4
Finally, we get to the best shorebird sighting of the Fall in McLean County. On September 16, Butch Tetzlaff reported a Red-necked Phalarope at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds on both ebird and the Central Illinois Birding Group. When I got the alert from ebird the same day, I got in my car and drove straight to the ponds. I was a little distracted from my destination by this Osprey sitting on a telephone pole with a fish on Highway 29 near the Merwin Nature Preserve.
When I arrived at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds, Wes Kolb was there with his wife watching the Red-necked Phalarope. The bird was swimming next to the rocks on the Northeast corner of the East pond. I could not believe how close I was able to get to this bird in my car.
I called several people I thought would want to see the bird, and Dave Weth showed up a little later. This was a lifer for him. I had just seen my first a week before--Matt Fraker's phalaropes at Clinton Lake. The next morning, I returned to better lighting.
Here are a couple of videos that I took of the bird feeding.
When I returned again on the afternoon of September 18, I had not one, but two Red-necked Phalaropes!
Both phalaropes were still present on September 19 as was this Baird's Sandpiper!
September 20 was the last day I saw the phalaropes. I was unable to locate them on the 21st. I took this photo standing next to Rich and Marion Miller who stopped by on September 20 to see the phalaropes on their way back home from a long birding adventure.
Below is a list of the shorebirds I have seen in McLean County this Fall. I saw all of these species except Semipalmated Plover and Lesser Yellowlegs at Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds. I also saw several of these species at Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington. Strangely, it I have not yet seen Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, or Wilson's Snipe in the county during this migration, and no Buff-breasted Sandpiper so far though Matthew Winks had one at Evergreen Lake a couple of days ago. I hope to see a few more species in the county before the season is over including Dunlin and Long-billed Dowitcher.
American Golden-plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
For the year, however, I have seen 20 shorebird species in the county listed below.
American Golden-plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Upland Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Red-necked Phalarope
Outstanding photos!!!
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