Baird's Sandpipers and ID Challenge - 13 Oct 2026
Today was forecasted to be hot, humid and windy. At 7:30 am I decided to make a quick run to Pt. Mouillee to look for some dowitchers that were reported yesterday. It was presently calm but I could see the trees beginning to bounce. I arrived at the end of Roberts Road at 8:30 am and walked out to the South Causeway. A few shorebirds were present but I quickly realized that there were no dowitchers. So I decided to spend some time checking out the shorebirds that were severely backlit by the morning sunrise to get some ID's. Three small shorebirds were flying in and one appeared to be a Dunlin . The other two birds flying behind were a pair of Baird's Sandpipers ! Initial ID was not easy. Scoping the first bird that landed showed that it had a black bill and black feet. I ruled out Semipalmated Sandpiper and Western Sandpiper based on the breast banding. It was too small to be a Pectoral Sandpiper (aside from the lack of yellow feet). I then suspected White-rumped Sand...