Photo: Upland Sandpiper
Last Wednesday I received a phone call from Norm and Fran Sanders and they told me they had just spotted a small flock of Upland Sandpipers at the Cambridge Airport. This was exciting news. Upland Sandpipers are rare breeders on Delmarva but can be regular during Fall migration in large grassy areas but they can be very difficult to observe because of the inaccessible habitat. I arrived at the airport around 5:00pm and found two Uppies about 200 feet off the road. I tried to get close for better photos but the birds spooked and flew off. I was able to get a few distant flight shots. I drove side roads towards Vienna stopping along the roadside checking the flowering Dogbane for butterflies. I was lucky to find a pair of Clouded Sulphers. Unfortunately they would not sit still so I had to settle for a poor flight shot. Common Checkered Skippers are late season fliers and I found my first of the year nectering on clover. Because of the drought Higgin's Mill Pond just south of Linkwood has some expansive flats that held quite a few species of shorebirds. Right when I was getting out of my car a Bald Eagle swooped down out of a tree and tried to take a Mallard off the pond. The eagle spooked all the shorebirds out of camera range but I was able to get my Pectoral Sandpiper shot for the year.
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