To all,

On 7/2, there was a Spotted Sandpiper on Clopper Lake, which I believe was a 
migrant.

Dave Powell

Germantown, MD


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sue Ricciardi" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 11:25 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Spotted Sandpiper near Huntingtown


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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