Dear all

A female Red-necked Phalarope was at the pond this morning, spending most of the time on a mudflat close to the road at the end furthest from the entrance road to the farm.  This is a really colorful and well-marked bird, well worth the early rise to be able to get there and back before soccer games and everything else start today.

There were 12 other species of shorebirds present:

Black-bellied Plover - single bird circled the pond several times, barely into breeding plumage
Killdeer
Semi-palmated Plover - about 5
Ruddy Turnstone - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs - 2
Spotted Sandpiper - 5
Wilson's Snipe - 2
Short-billed Dowitcher (griseus) - 3
Dunlin - 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1
Least Sandpiper - around 25

The BB Plover and Turnstone disappeared soon after I spotted them so the birds may be hanging out somewhere else, on a wet patch in a field perhaps.

The road by the pond was quite dry, and you could get any car down there without worrying about getting stuck.  I also spoke to someone who manages part of the farm who was very friendly.

Regards

Clive Harris
Cabin John, MD


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