I found a Rock Sandpiper Today!

Just when I thought the birding was really slow here. I went down to Point Roberts with Ilya and we found a Rock Sandpiper at Lighthouse Marine Park. I bird Point Roberts a lot  as it's one of my fave places to bird. I have never seen a Rock Sandpiper there despite my friends Kevin  Louth and  Ken Klimko and others finding them there. Point Roberts, although located in WA is still under the Metro Vancouver County checklist as per Nature Vancouver. It is in Whatcom County as per eBird though.

 It was a new bird for the point for me. Ilya and I watched it with Ken and Kathy for over an hour and then it flew towards the marina. At the marina we quickly found it again with a flock of Black Turnstones and watched it for another hour before they flew away just before sunset.

 Hopefully it sticks around for a few days for other birders to see. It was a very confiding bird too. Point Roberts has had some confiding rare shorebirds like Curlew Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover and Rock Sandpiper just to name a few. I am glad I took this off my Point Roberts most wanted list. The next one I want to find in Point Roberts is a Yellow-billed Loon since I missed the last one Kevin Louth found there.

A rare Rock Sandpiper in Point Roberts, WA - Photos: Melissa Hafting



Comments

  1. Shou Ye GauthierMarch 13, 2020 at 1:19 AM

    What a lovely set of pictures in the last golden rays of light. Congrats on the rock sandpiper making your Pt. Roberts list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingMarch 13, 2020 at 11:18 AM

      thanks shou. point roberts sure is a special place glad you came down with me last weekend

      Delete
  2. Timo SniederMarch 17, 2020 at 8:49 AM

    I just discovered your blog and I'm liking this type of "thinking outside the box" Birding! Interestingly, the only time I've seen rock sandpipers in BC was from a kayak, on an island (discovery I.). I have also seen them on an extremely long breakwater in ocean city, Wa. I've also seen Purple Sandpipers almost exclusively on islands (aside from a flyby) both in Ontario and in Scotland. So both species seem to prefer islands or at the very least super long jetties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingMarch 17, 2020 at 2:27 PM

      yes totally agree with you. they like jetties and this one ended up on a rock jetty in point roberts. funny enough I have seen a purple sandpiper (bc's first) on trial island which is right near where you saw your rock sandpiper on discovery island. thanks for your kind comments and glad you are enjoying the blog. especially during this crazy coronavirus times, the best thing to do is to get out alone and bird.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Dowitcher Identification

Image
Birders notoriously find it difficult to tell Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers apart. I have got a request to do an identification explanation on them so here goes, I hope it will be helpful. Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed look so similar. Using their habitat is helpful but not diagnostic. Short-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer Salt water and brackish water and Long-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer fresh water. However, I have OFTEN seen Short-billeds in freshwater and Long-billeds in brackish and salt water. Therefore, DO NOT rely on habitat. Another feature many people will tell you to rely on is spotting on the side of the flanks of Short-billeds and barring on the side of Long-billeds. Usually this is a mark that you can use but it is not always as distinct as you like. I have seen Short-billeds with a barred appearance to the flanks. It is only at the side of the breast where you have to look for this diagnostic feature for the spots on a Short-billed and t
Read more

Hawk Identification Tips from every angle (Sharpie vs Cooper and Red-tailed Subspecies)

Image
I get several questions about the difference between accipiters. The most common ones are between Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks and between Cooper's Hawks vs Northern Goshawks (to a lesser degree). Next, I get many questions dealing with a certain race of buteos the Western Red-tailed Hawk and Harlan's. So I thought I would do a post on these to help answer those questions. I will deal with Cooper's and Sharpies and not Goshawks because they are much more common here and look much more alike. My friend John Reynolds inspired me to write this up. COOPER'S AND SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS EYE COLOUR - YELLOW OR ORANGE? RED? Normally a juvenile Cooper's hawk has a bright yellow eye and a Juvie Sharpie has a orange eye but some cooper's can have a dull yellow eye that looks a bit orangish. Cooper's Hawks usually only transition to the orange eye colour when they are sub adults, so in good light, it's a very very reliable feature. However you
Read more

STINT IDENTIFICATION

Image
As per request, here are some tips that I hope will be helpful in identifying and differentiating Red-necked Stint from Little Stint. I will also do a brief intro on Long-toed and Temminck's Stint... if you build it they will come right?😉 Red-necked and Little Stints look very much alike in worn breeding plumage. The amount of Red on the face, throat and breast in Red-necked Stint is vary variable). They look even more alike in non-breeding plumage, that is why it is essential to learn structural differences to separate the two. They are similar to Semipalmated Sandpipers as well as Sanderlings. Both species are often confused for Red-necked Stints. Little Stints rarely get confused with Sanderling because they have a hind toe which helps differentiate it from this species. Sanderlings in breeding or worn breeding are usually confused with Red-necked Stints but they are much larger than Red-necked Stints. Let's first start with Bills in this complicated ID proces
Read more

*Updated - The most famous Red-tailed Hawk is eating fish on the ground just like a Bald Eagle!

Image
Update - There are plans in the works to make a documentary film on this young Red-tailed Hawk who thinks he's an Eagle. You can read the latest news about that on CBC HERE . Watch this incredible footage of the little Red-tailed Hawk who grew up in a family of three Eaglets and 2 Bald Eagle Parents. He is imprinted now on Bald Eagles. He looks and acts just like one, as you can see here in the video below. He is standing over a large salmon carcass, just like a Bald Eagle would and he's eating the decaying flesh. Red-tailed Hawks like to eat voles and rabbits etc. not fish! Imprinting is usually irreversible according to raptor expert David Bird. However, I hope it's reversible so that he doesn't attempt to mate with a Bald Eagle, as the Eagle would kill him because it would view him as a Hawk. Eagle expert David Hancock said that the bird will likely starve and get killed by an eagle. He said this possibly can be prevented if someone grabs it and takes it to O
Read more

*UPDATED* The First Ever Black Birders Week May 31-June 5th

Image
By now you have probably heard about the racist Canadian-born White woman who did a racist attack on a Black birder named Christian Cooper in Central Park in NYC. All he asked was for her to leash her dog in a on-leash dog area. If you haven't heard of this story you can watch the video and read about it HERE . It's a vile video of a vile person who knew her White privilege and used it as a weapon against this man.  We all know that in America many Black people especially Black men are killed by police for no reason at all but the colour of their skin. A good example is George Floyd who was killed by a police officer (while 3 other cops looked on) for what they said was a possible 20$ forged bill. The White police officer put a knee on his neck on camera for over 8 mins until he died, despite having the victim completely restrained, begging for mercy and not being able to breathe. Only one police officer was charged and not for 1st degree murder but third and manslaught
Read more