Year Bird # 235 and the Quest for a Solitary Sandpiper

    I have been on the search for a Solitary Sandpiper, which would be a life bird, not to mention a county year bird for me. With or without this bird, my numbers have been steadily climbing. It seems like Solitary Sandpipers are being reported everywhere in Oregon except for here. I still have a couple of weeks before their migration "window" starts to close, but they are casual in Douglas County during migration, and every day I can't find one I grow a little more nervous.
    This morning I received a pleasant early surprise when 5 American White Pelicans showed up at a very shallow Ford's Pond. They usually show up in the beginning of October. I don't know if the water at any point is deep enough for them to stick their heads in, so their feeding was comical as they held their heads sideways to get their bills in the water. However, my best moment came as a photo and a bit of luck. Bald Eagles sometimes like to perch in some oaks on a hill near the pond, and I failed to get a really great shot the last time they were there. Today I walked up and balanced my camera on my spotting scope, and just as I was about to take a picture, the bird flew. "Oh well," I thought. But when I got home and downloaded the pictures I realized I had taken a fair takeoff shot:

My what big wings you have!

 On the way around the pond I ran into an almost-Solitary Sandpiper. This Lesser Yellowlegs had me looking for about 5 minutes before I eliminated the possibility of Solitary.

Almost?

    The bill on this bird is a little too long and thin for a Solitary Sandpiper. Also, the legs are a little long (easier to see in the field) and there wasn't a strong eye-ring. The dark back and dark breast made me double-take.

    My quest for a Solitary continued with a 2 hour paddle around Plat I reservoir. While I didn't find my target bird their either, I did find a very lonely Baird's Sandpiper, which bumped me up to #235. I figured I would find this bird here or at the coast this weekend, but after probably missing Calliope Hummingbird for my year list (which is sad because multiple people had them at their feeders this spring and I figured I could find one in the mountains) I'll take it when I can get it.

Notice the long wingtips.

    Baird's Sandpipers have long wingtips that extend beyond their tail. They also are a bit larger and slimmer looking than Western Sandpipers. I studied a lot of upright and preening Western Sandpipers looking for a Baird's. But this Baird's stood out when I finally found it.
 

Also notice the narrow, dark bill.

    Earlier this month I found a Snowy Egret at the coast, which is a good bird for the county. I also lucked out and saw a Wandering Tattler bobbing up and down far out on the jetty. It helped that I had been looking at a Black Turnstone for a while, and I was able to compare sizes. I'm keeping my finger's crossed for Solitary Sandpipers, but I'll take what I can get.

Year Total: 235
Year Goal: 245
County Record: 265