Bird #127 — Spotted Sandpiper

actitis (shore dweller) macularia (spotted)

Sunday, April 13, 1980 — 4:00 pm

Lisle, Illinois — Morton Arboretum

I’ve been to the Arboretum three or four times during my birding life, and I’ve never been particularly impressed.  The roads and paths wind through many different types of woods, fields and gardens.  It is undeniably beautiful, but the birding is unspectacular.

After my wife and I saw my lifer Northern Rough-winged Swallow, we walked around for a while.  We ended up back by Meadow Lake and there saw this Spotted Sandpiper.  The “lake” is a small pond in a field near the main building.  This April, it wasn’t more than two-thirds full of water and was surrounded by mud flats.  The sandpiper was standing in the mud, teetering up and down at the edge of the water.  It flew out over the water as we approached and landed further down the shore.  It had peculiar wing beats with jerky down strokes.

This entry was posted in Birds. Bookmark the permalink.