An UPLAND SANDPIPER was on the Long Meadow ball fields at dawn this morning. It was just after 6:00, and still dim on the field, with the sun not yet over the tree line. I was walking up the middle of the field when the bird flushed (or perhaps it was just coming down) from the direction of diamonds 5 & 6, crossing the field and setting down near diamond 2. It walked a few paces, then made two more short flights, passing around me at close range and landing about 20 yards away, providing definitive looks before it again took flight. This time it gained altitude and headed north, where I lost it behind the elms near the Upper Pool. I walked up and down the length of the meadow and checked out Nellie’s Lawn, but couldn’t find it again. I returned to the original spot and had a brief thrill when I again saw a shorebird flying north over the meadow, but this time it turned out to be a WILSON’S SNIPE. Shortly thereafter I came upon a SOLITARY SANDPIPER behind the Lower Pool; along with a couple of Spotted Sandpipers that made for four shorebird species, probably the most I’ve had on one day in Prospect. Spotted is the only one that’s ever common in the park; according to Peter Dorosh’s blog, this is the first record of Upland since 4/22/1950.
As far as passerines go, it was a fairly slow day, with the highlights being WORM-EATING and PRAIRE WARBLERS, and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Good birding, Alex Wilson Brooklyn -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
