A morning pilgrimage to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center today was successful for some in seeing the White Pelican. I had been there about a half hour when it picked up and soared off to the west at about 10:15, perhaps to feed in Prospect Bay. 

   Among the Great and Snowy Egrets was one Tricolored Heron. The common shorebirds were Lesser Yellowlegs and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Other shorebirds present included Semipalmated Plovers, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers (including the first juveniles I have seen this season), Pectoral Sandpipers, and Stilt Sandpipers (adults in near breeding plumage). We also found two White-rumped Sandpipers which I believe are the earliest I have ever seen in fall migration. I could not pick out a Western Sandpiper for sure or any dowitchers, surprising considering the numbers at Poplar Island last week. 

Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD