Chris Swarth, the Director of Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, asked me to post 

this observation. 



Yesterday, on June 29, while three of us (Samantha Dean, Holly Badin   
and I ) were slowly  motoring by boat very close to shore on the   
Patuxent River along  Calvert County north of Hall's Creek (near   
Huntingtown), we startled a single Spotted Sandpiper. The bird called   
loudly and flew north right along shore, alighting every 30m or so, as   
these birds typically do when disturbed. We continued north in the   
boat, and every half minute we startled the sandpiper again. With my   
binoculars I could easily identify the bird as a breeding plumaged   
Spotted Sandpiper. It also exhibited its characteristic flight on   
stiff, bowed wings, its piping call, and we had excellent looks as it   
bobbed up and down when it lighted on the dead tree branches that   
projected out over the water. After 3-4 minutes of us pushing the bird   
along shore, it had had enough and it cut out over the deepwater and   
returned in the direction from which it came. 
I suspect that this was a breeding adult male, probably with young   
hidden along the shore on the beach. As you know, males incubate and raise   
the young; the female Spotted Sandpiper plays no role in parental   
care. I suspect that this male was trying to lead us away from the   
chicks by flying along shore and calling. It did appear agitated.   
Breeding records for Spotted Sandipers in AA and Calvert County are   
rare (are there any recent records?) and I don't think that many nests   
have been found anywhere in Maryland. This late June sighting   
certainly suggests that breeding could have occurred right here in   
Calvert County on the Patuxent River. 


Sue Ricciardi 

Arnold, MD

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