Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies

Upland Sandpiper**

(formerly Upland Plover)Bartramia longicauda
North of Honeoye, “in a section of high country and gravel road,” Frank Dobson and other birders walked through short-cropped, well-trodden cow pastures during the summer of 1983. Suddenly they heard a “long, low, wolf-whistle like call” that signaled the presence of the Upland Sandpiper. “There could have been several pair, perhaps with young, as one whistle led to another, with as many as four calls at one time, in different directions,” Dobson related. One bird took flight, circling wide with “seemingly a labored wing beat” and climbed almost out of sight. “Another would sweep low over the pasture, bend its neck and tip its head back as it uttered a rippling song and a long whistle.” (Birds, 3 July 1983) Based on recent Breeding Bird Atlas results, one has to wonder how much longer this species will maintain even a token nesting presence in our region, and indeed in most other parts of New York State.
Background
The mournful, haunting yodel of this small-headed, thin-necked resident of dry fields and old pastures is one of the “most interesting sounds of our bird life,” Eaton (1910) observed. (Eaton I: 333) When a nesting site is located, these birds can often be seen perched on fence posts and telephone poles.This shorebird spends most of its life away from water, breeding in grasslands primarily in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas, but also as far north as Alaska and eastwards across the Great Lakes region into parts of New England. “It exhibits distinctive grassland adaptations,” notes the profile of this species for The Birds of North America series: cryptic coloration, ground nesting, well-defined diversionary displays, flight song, and relatively short incubation and nestling phases. On its breeding grounds it “typically requires 3 different but nearby habitats: During courting it needs perches and low vegetation for visibility; during nesting, higher vegetation to hide its nest; and during supervision of young, lower vegetation.” Airports now supply half or more of this species’ nesting sites in several northeastern states, where adequate grasslands are in short supply. It spends up to eight months on its wintering grounds in South America, and is know to wander to Guam, Australia and Europe. This bird suffered severely from hunting pressures in the late 1800s, and has continued to decline as grassland habitat has been lost to farming. BBS surveys suggest that declines continue in 25 of 26 states and provinces, excepting only North Dakota, where nearly 200,000 were estimated in 1993. However, more recent estimates place total North American population at only about 350,000. Key to this species’ survival are: maintenance of grasslands of various heights with few shrubs, delaying mowing until July 1, controlled burning of haylands every 3 years, moderate grazing on a rotational basis, but not season long; provision of fencing to protect areas from trampling by cattle and to provide perches. One researcher “considered the nonmechanized Amish people the ideal stewards of Upland Sandpiper nest grounds; the Amish appreciate the ‘injurious field insects’ eaten by the sandpipers and provide them suitable habitats and protection.” (BNA 580:1-2, 19-20, 22)
Local history
This species “probably moved into the eastern United States from the western prairies as forest were cleared and pastures and meadows created by early settlers,” Stephen Eaton notes. (Andrle, p. 158)This species was commonly heard on breeding grounds a century ago just north of Ridge Road, from four miles east of Clarkson to about nine miles farther west, Eaton (1910) noted. It was also extending its range in Chili, he reported, adding that it “certainly has increased” in western Monroe County during the last 10 years, though still “local” in distribution. He also listed it as a summer resident in Livingston and Wayne Counties, describing it as “uncommon” in the latter. Its chief enemies, he asserted, “are certainly not the gunners, but wandering cats and other predacious animals, sheep and cattle which destroy its eggs, late plowing and the cultivating of fields.” (Eaton 1:331-332, county charts)Edson recalled coming across a flock of seven “in the fields where the Barge Canal now is” during a Sunday afternoon walk in June 1914. “For the next five years one or two birds were reported in this general area. Then came a period of no reports up to 1936 when they were again reported from the airport grounds, but the cutting of the Barge Canal had greatly changed the topography of the area.” (WBR, 20 June 1960)  R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of only one to two birds, with a maximum count of eight, on dates ranging from 8 May to 14 July.“This is one of the species that is approaching extinction,” Edson warned in 1938, “and unless great care is taken to prevent the killing of this bird at all times, or molestation of the nest and eggs, another species will follow the passenger pigeon, heath hen, great auk and too many others over the route which supplies no return ticket.” (WBR, 2 May 1938)And yet, four years later he wrote that the species “seems to be gaining, possibly because during the depression years much land was left uncultivated and they were able to hatch their eggs unmolested by the plow.” (WBR, 22 June 1942) However, from about 1940 to 1980 “land use changes have adversely affected this species. Prairies are being cultivated, wetlands drained, farms abandoned, and grasslands developed for residential or industrial purposes,” Stephen Eaton noted in his profile of the species for the Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York state. (Andrle, p. 158) When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported only 53 times, with 21 of the sightings coming in May when average counts were 7-10. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B) Tanghe, in his 1953 listing of breeding birds in the Rochester area, considered this an uncommon nester, listing only Jefferson Road “west from the village of Pittsford” as a breeding location. (GOS, May/August 1953)In 1960 adults with young were found near Honeoye Lake and west of Braddock Bay. (KB10: 101) In 1965 these birds were reported nesting at the Rochester-Monroe County airport, at the Hylan airport and at the West Manitou interchange on the Lake Ontario Parkway. (WBR, 2 August 1965)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon summer resident. However, there was only a single block with evidence of breeding in the county during the second Breeding Bird Atlas project.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular uncommon local summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 4 April (1956) to 19 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 16 to 27 April. Subsequently, one on 1 April 1992 (S. Klonick) at the Rochester airport was earlier, but is not recorded as either record early or first of spring migration. (GOS, June 1992)
Spring maxima: 21 migrating with passerines on 18 April 1959 (Listman) at the west spit of Braddock Bay was considered an “encouraging count.” (KB9:79, BA, 23 April 1959) 20 on 28 April 1956 (Listman) at the Manitou hawk lookout. (GOS, January-June 1956) 25 on 2 May 1953 (Listman) west lakeshore. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Summer/breeding status: The BBA projects document a sobering, ongoing contraction of this species’ already tenuous breeding presence in our region. Indeed, if results of the second project are indicative, Nation’s Road may be the last stronghold of Upland Sandpiper in our region.

Here’s a closer look at areas where this species had traditionally occurred:Avon/Nations Road area: As many as six were “in the air at once,” along Works Road south of Avon in June 1966; members of the Genesee Ornithological Society field trip that day also found another half dozen along Nation’s Road north of Geneseo that “acted as though they had young nearby and were quite approachable.” (BA, 23 June 1966) A Genesee Ornithological Society field trip in June 1976 found a breeding colony northeast of Avon along the Works and Oak Opening roads. “At one point there were six adult birds in view at one time and three or four pert little chicks were seen skulking through the grass,” John Brown reported. (BA, 16 June 1976) A colony on the Nations Road Farm has been established since at least the late 1950s and may be the only permanent breeding site in Livingston County, Fox notes. (Fox, p. 47)Even in Livingston County, however, blocks with evidence of breeding decreased from 18 during the first BBA project to only four during the second. Two contiguous blocks in the Nations Road area were the only ones in the entire region with confirmed breeding during the second project.      Maxima:      20 on 6 May 1996 (Fox) at Nations Road Farm. (Fox, p. 47)
Lakeshore Road near Point Breeze: “Many people have asked, ‘Where is the best place to find Upland Sandpipers?’” Perrigo noted in 1977. His reply: One “surefire place to find them is in the grass at the Lakeshore Road exit of the (Lake) Ontario State Parkway, especially around the adjacent Sawyer Road borrow pit.” (LG, July 1977) And for many years this was the annual destination for field trips to see these birds.In 1975, Listman reported seeing no less than 11 at the Lakeshore Road interchange with the parkway, “indicating a very successful population in that area.” (BA, 6 August 1975)  During the first BBA project in 1982, young birds turned up near the intersection. (BA, 15 July 1982) Indeed, evidence of breeding was found in five contiguous blocks in this area. However, in 1986 there appeared to be only one nesting pair in this area, “compared to 10-12 nesting pairs over the last 10 years,” the Little Gull reported. (LG, August 1986) Two adults with three young were seen in a pasture at the Lakeshore Road exit by a field trip on 15 June 1997. (GOS, July/August 1997)However, no evidence of breeding was found in this section during the second project.     Maxima:      6-15 on 26-29 July 1975 (RBA trip). (LG, August 1975)      15 on 16 July 1981 (Davids, Reister). (LG, August 1981)      2-20 during July 1982 (Davids, Symonds). (LG, August 1982)      16 on 23 June 1978 (N. Henderson). (KB 28:239, GNR)
Rochester-Monroe County Airport: As in other parts of the Northeast, Rochester’s municipal airport was another reliable breeding site. An adult with a small chick was at the airport in July 1959, John Brown reported. The airport was “one of only a few places in this area where (Upland Sandpiper) can be found regularly.” (BA, 9 July 1959)During the summer of 1979, “oblivious to the thunder and roar of arriving and departing jetliners,” at least two families of Upland Sandpipers had each managed to raise four young there, Brown reported. (BA, 8 August 1979)The sight of these shorebirds “feeding in the short grass along the edges of runways and taxi strips within a long stone’s throw of a busy airport terminal” was a strange one indeed, he conceded. Nonetheless, this species “has been a specialty of the airport area since its beginnings as a flying field, and probably before. From time to time it has been feared they had left, but they are now obviously prospering, having survived and adapted to the vast changes that have taken place.” Local attorney Byron Johnson told Brown he was “delighted to look out of a plane sitting on the runway on July 18 (1978) and see one ‘looking perfectly at home.’” (BA, 2 Aug 1978)  However, no evidence of breeding was reported during the second BBA project.      Maxima:       23 on 7 August 1963 (Maley) was the area’s “highest count in recent years.” (KB13: 209)     26 on 19 August 1964 (Maley). (KB15: 29)     20 on 20 July 1979. (KB 29: 216)     26 on 4 August 1980. (KB 30:229)     17 on 12 July 1986. (KB36:218).
Other maxima:     17 at Shore Acres on 25 July 1953 (Van Beurden). (KB: 3:73);     14 during July 1986 at an apparent colony in Hamlin (LG, August 1986; grassy fields at Church Road/Martin Road intersection were listed as a place to watch for nesting birds in the June/July 1993 LG)     28 on 13 August 2004 (Kimball) at Geneseo airfield. (LG, October 2004; KB 54:333)
The BBA projects document a startling contraction of this species’ breeding presence in other areas of the state as well. It appears to have been almost extirpated in large areas of the St. Lawrence Plain, and greatly reduced in the Mohawk Valley and across other parts of western New York. Only in the eastern Ontario Plains, specifically in Jefferson County, does this species appear to be holding its own.
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 7 August to 13 October (1968), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 20 August to 4 September.

Whimbrel

(formerly Hudsonian Curlew)Numenius phaeopus
Hedy and Bob Marcotte were startled to see one of these birds walk by, perhaps 30 yards away, as they finished their picnic lunch at Hamlin Beach SP on 2 September 1990. Bob followed it as it “worked its way across the grass, head and neck all herky-jerky, jabbing at the ground occasionally for food. It seemed oblivious to the activity all around it. “It approached within 20 yards of children playing noisily at a swing. It then sauntered over to an area where people were playing (bocce) ball. One of the balls rolled within a few feet of the bird without alarming it. “You would have thought it was just another gull scavenging for handouts. “In fact, one of the picnickers said it had joined the gulls to feed on popcorn thrown by his daughter.” Marcotte then drove home 18 miles, got his camera, returned and was able to take several photos of this most cooperative bird … (GOS, October 1990) “I know of no one who does not appreciate big, curve-billed creatures like the Whimbrel,” Chip Perrigo noted. (LG, September 1978)
Background
The long, decurved bill matches the curved burrow of the fiddler crab in Panama, where many of these curlews winter. Various races breed from Iceland and Scotland, across Scandinavia and Russia to Siberia. In North America, there are two main populations, one breeding in Alaska and extreme northwestern Canada, the other west and south of Hudson Bay. It nests in a variety of habitats ranging from dry heath uplands to poorly drained lowlands. Some birds make nonstop Atlantic flights of up to 4,000 km from southern Canada or New England to South American wintering grounds. Population trends poorly understood. Juveniles, as the Marcottes discovered, are fairly tame and were once called “foolish curlew” by hunters. (BNA 219: 1, 2, 5, 18)
Local history
These migrants with distinctive sickle-shaped bills have become one of the most reliable of the large shorebirds to pass through our area, especially along the Lake Ontario shoreline in fall. But this wasn’t always the case. Eaton (1910) considered it a rare migrant in Monroe County, with three “definite” records for our region: three at Brockport on 10 October 1880, one at Lake Ontario at Monroe County on 10 September 1889 and in Orleans County in September 1897. The latter was collected from a flock of Killdeer near Murray. (Eaton I: 340, county charts; B&M, p. 214)Edson said this species then “dropped out of the picture” until one on 4 July 1938. (WBR, 9 June 1958) However, both Bull and Beardslee and Mitchell cite 16 on 16 May 1922 (Short) at a pond near Chili. (Bull, p. 244; B&M, p. 214)Five on 13 July 1935 (Jarvis) were at Sodus Bay. (WBR, 22 July 1935) Edson gives conflicting accounts of its occurrence thereafter. During the last 10 years, birders found “one to six in the fall migration almost every year,” he reported in 1954, but four years later said they had been recorded only “eight years, from one to five years apart.” (WBR, 2 August 1954; 9 June 1958) When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported nine times, twice in spring, the rest in fall. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B) All the sightings were of single birds except for nine seen flying in V formation at Braddock Bay’s east spit (Simons) on 25 July 1954. (WBR, 2 August 1954; GNR) Twenty-six on 8 August 1959 (Listman, Whites) were seen flying along the lakeshore from the west spit. (KB9:124, GNR)  John Brown speculated in 1963 that “hundreds may pass over undetected each spring,” noting that only in recent years had large flights been recorded. (BA, 31 May 1963) For example, just the year before Allen Kemnitzer had reported 120 on 27 May 1962 off Webster, for an “unprecedented number inland.” (Bull, p. 244)Even in 1978, however, Chip Perrigo noted these birds had been “terribly scarce here for the past decade.” Three individual sightings had been seen that August, prompting him to speculate that “perhaps they are staging a mild comeback or else they are simply shifting back to the old flyway routes of the past when they were predictably regular within our region.” (LG, September 1978)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, uncommon to common spring transient and an irregular, uncommon fall transient. Though they continue to be scarce some years, they have been seen almost every mid-summer to fall since at least 1985.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 12 May (1982) to 13 June with a mid range of 22 to 29 May. Subsequently, one on 5 May 1999 (D. Tetlow) at Fairport was earlier (GNR) and was later tied by one in 2006 (D. Tetlow, Davids) at Parma. (KB 56:241)
    Spring maxima:      216 on 23 May 2004 (D. Tetlow, T. Smart) Hamlin Beach SP. (GOS, July 2004)     120 on 27 May 1962 (Kemnitzer) migrating off Webster. (KB 12: 91)      100 on 18 May 1980 observed by several “Big Day” groups along the lakeshore when rain and a shift in the wind created ideal grounding conditions. (KB 30:165-6)    Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 4 July (1979, 1982) to 9 October, with a mid range of 23 July to 12 September. Subsequently one on 27 June 1995 (Sherony) at Webster was record early. (GOS, September 1995)
    Fall maxima:     160 on 29 August 2004 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach. (LG, October 2004)      58 on 15 September 1982 (Perrigo, Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP in a year of many sightings. (LB October 1982)

Eskimo Curlew*

Numenius borealis At one time this was a regular fall migrant on Long Island, “and perhaps in western New York,” especially in dry, upland fields where it could be found feeding on grasshoppers and other insects with American Golden-plover and Upland Sandpiper. However, “many like Professor Cooke believe that this species is now practically extinct,” Eaton (1910) wrote. “If so it seems that this unfortunate fate has overtaken it because of its habit of bunching so closely during its migrations, that gunners, as well as unfavorable weather conditions, had exceptional opportunities to effect its destruction.” (Eaton I: 341)
Background
“Populations of few New World species have suffered such a rapid demise,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. During the last half of the 19th century, populations plummeted from “at least hundreds of thousands of birds to so few that sightings were considered rare.” Excess hunting, conversion of prairies to agriculture, suppression of wildfires and eradication of a prime food source – Rocky Mountain grasshopper – all contributed to this species’ decline. “Coordinated efforts since the mid-1980s to locate birds have failed, but isolated unconfirmed sightings continue to surface and drive efforts to identify areas and habitats still used by the species.” (BNA 347: 1-2)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed a single record for Monroe County, at Brockport on 8 May 1887. (Eaton I: 342) However, Bull considered a specimen taken at Manitou on 23 September 1890 to be one of only three reliable upstate records. (Bull, p. 245) This was formerly a casual, very rare transient, according to the Monroe County annotated list (1985), which listed only one record since 1900, on 30 August 1925.

Hudsonian Godwit

Limosa haemastica
“While normal people lamented the cool, gloomy, rain-soddened Labor Day weekend,” Steve Taylor, the RBA’s field editor, noted in 1981, “birders were beside themselves with joy.” (LG, October 1981) Why? “Avian fallout.” The events that memorable weekend are instructive not only because of the record tally of Hudsonian Godwits in our region, but because they remind us that far- flung weather patterns can “make or break” the occurrence of birds here. As Taylor recounted, an occluded front lay over the Midwest from Wisconsin through Illinois and down the Mississippi Valley for 10 days in late August. To the east of the front, “moisture-laden air from the Gulf of Mexico was pumped northward” producing torrential rains in Indiana and Illinois. Helping to hold this system in place was different system of high pressure over Quebec. When the high pressure system shifted eastward just before Labor Day, and then stalled over the Maritimes, it allowed that occluded front to advance into western New York before it, too, again stalled.And now it was our turn to receive torrential rainfall. “The Lake Ontario water level, already high because of the St. Lawrence Seaway, rose even more, leaving virtually no shoreline attractive to shorebirds,” Taylor noted. However, “the newly plowed fields in northwest Monroe County and northeast Orleans County were saturated. There was standing water everywhere.”And that’s where the shorebirds were grounded. The 1,000 American Golden-plovers (see below) were incredible enough. So too the 500+ Killdeer, 200+ Black-bellied Plovers and no less than 28 species of shorebirds in a three-day period. Throw in another 100 or so Hudsonian Godwits and, well, no wonder John Brown reported it to be the “greatest shorebirding weekend in the history of birding in this region.” (BA, 17 September 1981) After all, as Taylor noted, besides being rare here, Hudsonian Godwits are “just plain spectacular.”
Background
Though not as rare as once believed, when it was ranked with the likes of Kirtland’s and Bachman’s warblers, this shorebird remains highly vulnerable, with a population of about 50,000 birds, most of which occur at only a handful of sites during the nonbreeding season, notes the profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. These birds breed where sedge meadows intermix with forest at widely scattered sites from western Alaska to Hudson Bay. On breeding grounds, Hudsonian Godwits regularly perch on top of trees, often adjusting their position to maintain their balance as they are unable to close their toes around the branches. Migration is elliptical: In spring, most birds pass through the Great Plains. In fall, major staging areas are at the Quill Lake area of Saskatchewan and at James Bay, perhaps representing separate western and eastern populations. James Bay birds presumably fly over the Maritimes and New England as part of a nonstop flight that takes them thousands of miles over the western Atlantic to South America. They winter at pampas marshes and on large coastal mudflats in Argentina and Chile. No current monitoring program adequately assesses population trends. (BNA 629: 1-3, 5-7, 12, 21)
Local history
These long-billed shorebirds “are very shy but respond readily to an imitation of their whistle, or the cries of wounded companions,” Elon Howard Eaton (1910) wrote. (Eaton I: 322) This enabled hunters to take a heavy toll. He listed this as a rare transient visitor for Monroe County in his county charts, with no indication of any occurrence in Livingston or Wayne counties. However, in his description of this species, he lists only five inland records, none from Monroe, but one from an unspecified location along Lake Ontario in Orleans County in September 1890, the same date given for Monroe County in the chart. Horsey did not show any record of this species in his list of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913-1936. So it appears that the first sightings since the turn of the century didn’t occur until the 1940s and 50s, when: One on 11 July 1941 (H. Schaefer) was at the Rochester airport. (WBR, 8 September 1958) A specimen was taken on 26 October 1941 (Drummond) at Crusoe Lake, Wayne County. (Bull, p. 247) One on 20 October 1946 (Listman) was at the east spit of Braddock Bay. (WBR, 8 September 1958. Note that Beardslee and Mitchell, p. 233, attribute the record to Meade, and write that he collected the bird on the 27th.) One 12-19 August 1950 (Bieber, Listman, mob) at Shore Acres. “It is rather interesting that this week’s bird was seen in the area torn up by road machines, laboring on the Lake Shore Blvd. (Lake Ontario parkway) project and we wonder that a bird, as timid as this, should select such a spot to feed and what it finds to eat in such a barren area,” Edson observed. (WBR, 21 August 1950; B&M, p. 233) One 16 October 1951 (Bieber) at Braddock Bay’s west spit. (GNR) One 19-20 September 1953 (O’Hara, Kemnitzer, mob) at Shore Acres (B&M, p. 233; GNR), with the same or a different bird seen there 24 October. (Miller, O’Hara – KB 3:73) One 26 October 1957 (Listman) to 4 November 1957 Salmon Creek to Long Pond. (KB 7:120) One 4 September 1958 (Schaefer) at Braddock Bay, two on 14-27 September 1958 at Northrup Creek, with one remaining to at least 5 October. (KB 8:116) This species was reported during four years in the 1960s, according to Kingbird regional reports. However, starting with a rare spring sighting at Braddock Bay on 20 May 1973, this species is now seen almost annually.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a casual, very rare spring transient and an irregular, rare fall transient. However, now almost annual in fall.
Occurrence
More than 60 records since 1941, all but five in later summer and fall.

Spring: Spring: Bull considered this species very rare in spring, and listed a sighting at Hamlin Beach, 18 May 1969, among three inland records for that season as of 1974. (Bull, p. 247) Only five spring records here: 1. One on 18 May 1969 (Listman, McKinney, Sunderlin) at Hamlin. (KB 19:151) 2. One on 20 May 1973 (Claffey, T. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay (KB 23:146) but not listed by Monroe County AL. 3. One on 21 May 1976 (Perrigo, H. and G. Beaver) at Parma (LGNR; note KB 26:159 gives date as 5 May) but not listed by Monroe County AL. 4. One 21 May 1978 (Tetlows, Sherony) at Sodus Bay (KB 28:171), which is listed in the Monroe County AL, even though the sighting was not in Monroe County! 5. Two on 26 May 2000 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 50:283)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 11 July (1941) to 17 November, with a mid range of 6 September to 17 October. One subsequently recorded at Braddock Bay 22-30 November 1988 (mob) set a record late date for the entire state. (GOS, January 1989) (NOTE: one to two reportedly lingered at Irondequoit Bay until 25 November that same year – LG, December 1988.) See also KB 39: 41. Often only one or two birds are seen here per season. Indeed, Bull said that 40 at the Montezuma refuge on 30 September 1967 was an “almost unbelievable flock.” (Bull, p. 247) One can only wonder how he might have described the incredible fallout that occurred in September 1981.To continue with Taylor’s narrative from above, the first five Hudsonian Godwits were found on Friday, 4 September from Hamlin to Point Breeze. Sunday was the “most gloomy and rainy” day of the weekend, but birders who braved the elements now found more than 50 of the godwits. Then, on Monday, the front began moving eastward and the sun reappeared. Of the larger shorebird species, only the Hudsonian Godwits remained. But a “thorough piecing together of the counts made simultaneously in several locations” now put the total at 101. (Note slightly different tallies under “maxima” below.) Taylor speculated that the godwits, which migrate 300-500 miles north of us on a line from Hudson and James Bay to the Maritimes/New England coast, encountered unfavorable northeast and east winds from the high pressure system, then turbulent, ever shifting cloud banks from the occluded front. Once swept up in the storm system, they “became disoriented, and were pushed off course. Their behavior while here indicated they were tired, hungry, and lost. They slept for long periods and ate relentlessly. Periodically they took wing and circled about these strange surroundings, rising ever higher into the sky as if to get their bearings, only to settle back down in the fields to sleep and eat some more.”Fourteen were still present on Tuesday; subsequent tallies were five on the 13th and two on the 24th. These were probably other godwits that had been affected by the storm system farther back up the pipeline that were “still wandering about in search of their lost migration route,” Taylor suggested.Fall maxima: 50+ in one large group on 2 September 1995 (D. and M. Sherony) flying overhead at Kendall. (KB 46:46; GNR) 103 on 7 September 1981 in Kendall and Carlton during an incredible fallout of shorebirds. (KB 32: 40) (Note: Brown’s tally was slightly different: 93 at Lake Shore and West Kendall roads; 20 at Point Breeze, and nine along Peter Smith Road. See BA 17 September 1981) 16 on 21 September 2003 (D. Tetlow) at Point Breeze after remnants of Hurricane Isabel passed over Lake Erie. (KB 54:55; LG, November 2003) 17 on 17 October 1993 (Sherony) at Irondequoit Bay. (GNR)

Marbled Godwit

Limosa fedoa
“This giant shore bird is perhaps the most spectacular . . .” Alfred Starling wrote, marveling that “the marbled godwit’s bill alone is as long as many of our warblers” (WBR, 5 August 1963).Any sighting here was truly a “major event,” John Brown added (BA, 15 May 1974). So it was considered quite a feat when the “keen eye and ornithological skill of 10-year-old Tommy Knupp” spotted one at Shore Acres on 25 July 1963 (WBR, 5 August 1963). “When feeding among the teals, as it was at Shore Acres, the godwit dwarfed the teal,” Starling noted. “It is unfortunate that this bird is so rare in New York State.”
Background
This large shorebird breeds in the prairies of the northern U.S. and southern Canada, with additional, isolated breeding populations along southwestern James Bay and in Alaska. Often places nest a considerable distance from water. Large wintering flocks are found in California and western Mexico, with smaller numbers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Its preference for prairies and its relatively short migration are in marked contrast to the similar Hudsonian Godwit. Nests of this species are hard to find because these birds rarely flush; in some cases incubating adults can be picked up from the nest. Even after the cessation of hunting, considerable habitat loss in prairie Canada and U.S. has kept it from rebounding to the numbers it enjoyed in the 1800s. Overall population is now estimated at 140,000 to 200,000 and believed stable. (BNA 492: 1, 12, 17)
Local history
Eaton (1910) indicated there had been only eight records statewide in the last 30 years, including one at an unspecified location in Orleans County in October 1888 that may or may not have fallen within what now constitute the boundaries of Region 2 (Eaton 1:321). (He also lists it as a rare transient visitor in Monroe County in his county charts, also citing October 1888 – same bird as the one in Orleans County?) Bull (1974) considered it “exceptionally rare” upstate, with only seven records since Eaton’s time. (Bull, p. 246)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a sporadic, very rare spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
There have been only about 20 occurrences here since 1950, five in spring (May/June), the rest southbound from July into fall. Dates ranged from 9 May to 11 October. 1.One on 19 August 1950 (Byron, Andrle, Seeber) at Shore Acres in the company of a Hudsonian Godwit was apparently the first sighting for Monroe County, Edson reported. Motion pictures were taken by Mitchell. (WBR, 28 August 1950; B&M, p. 233; see also August field notes in GOS, June-August 1950) 2.One on 7 October 1950 (Dolan, O’Hara) at Salmon Creek (GNR). 3.One on 4 October 1959 (Listman) at Manitou, with possibly the same bird at Northrup Creek (Lloyd, Listman) a week later (KB 9: 162; WBR, 12 October 1959). The 4 October bird was spotted by Listman as it flew west into the wind less than 150 feet off Manitou Beach (BA, 8 Oct 1959). 4.One on 25-28 July 1963 (Knupp, mob) at Shore Acres (KB 13:209) 5.One 3 June 1967 (Listman, O’Hara, mob) in a Parma pasture (KB 17:220), “the only reliable spring occurrence inland,” Bull noted. (Bull, p. 246) 6.One 17-19 May 1973 (McNetts, mob) west lakeshore. (KB 23:146) 7.One 9 June 1973 (Carlson) Braddock Bay (KB 23:195) 8.One 6-7 June 1977 (T. Tetlow, Symonds, R. and F. Dobson) Northrup Creek. (KB27:218) 9.One 9 May 1980 (R. Spahn, mob) off Chase Road, Hamlin. (KB 30:166; BA, 15 May 1980) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 31: 207) 10.One 6 September 1981 (J. Skelly, Claffey, Reister, Symonds) Kendall (KB 32:40) “leading a flock of 22 Hudsonians in to join 34 already on the ground.” 11.One 9 August 1984 (Davids, Symonds) Hamlin Beach SP was seen on five separate days (KB 34:243); one at the park 12 September 1984 was possibly the same bird. (KB 35:43). 12.One 21 September 1985 (M. Robinson, et al) Shore Acres. (KB 36:21, GNR) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 37:202) 13.One 31 August – September 1988 (O’Hara, Sherony) at Irondequoit Bay (KB 38:262) was seen by many birders who attended the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs conference. (GOS, October 1988). 14.One 27 July 1992 (Symonds) Pt. Breeze. (KB 42:238) 15.One 27 July 1993 (Ewald) Braddock Bay (KB 43:316) flying past the hawkwatch. (LG, August 1993) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 45: 73) 16.One 10 August 1998 (Dalton, R. and F. Dobson) Charlotte (KB 48:327) “in the early morning before the swimmers arrived.” (LG, November 1998) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 51: 485) 17.One 9 July 1999 (D. Tetlow) Braddock Bay. (KB 49:332) 18.One 15-16 May 2002 (Guerard, Davids, Symonds, Cass) Braddock Bay. (KB 52:242) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 54: 292) 19.One 27 July 2002 (D. Tetlow) Hogan Point. (KB 52:350)(Note: One 12 May 1974 (Listman) at Hogan Point Road was reported in Birds Afield, 15 May 1974 but is not listed in Goshawk or Kingbird.)

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres
When the rain finally cleared off on 3 June 1964, John Brown headed to the west spit of Braddock Bay “to find what the cool, westerly wind might have deposited there.”  At least two dozen Ruddy Turnstones, as it turned out, amid scores of other shorebirds. The “harlequin-headed” turnstones were “turning over not only stones but every movable bit of flotsam, from driftwood to dead fish, in their incessant search for food,” Brown noted. Viewed through his 30-power Balscope “these are spectacular looking birds with their flashy head patterns and bright orange legs, but on a stony beach they blend so well into the background as to be easily overlooked in a cursory inspection.” (BA, 4 June 1964)Edson related an encounter with a couple of these birds on the pier at Charlotte in September 1930. “They were after the cast-off bait of fishermen, worms and half-dead minnows left on the pier. They did not mind the many people passing, and were approaching within three feet, from which distance the variegated white and black upper parts tinted brownish, and their orange-red feet, could be plainly seen.” (Unusual Bird Visitor Turns Over Stones for Its Living,” D&C, 22 September 1930)
Background
This colorful migrant gets its name from its habit of flipping over stones and debris in search of food. It is one of the most northerly breeding of all shorebirds, nesting in the tundra of Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland, and also in Europe and Asia. Winters along Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts and south through Central and South America. It feeds on rocky and sandy beaches during migration and winter, turning over rocks, pebbles, seaweeds, shells and other debris with its stout, slightly upturned upper mandible. During the breeding season its diet consists mainly of flies. North American numbers have been estimated at 267,000, about 59 percent of the total world population. (BNA 537: 1, 2)
 Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as an uncommon transient at Monroe County, and only occasional in Wayne, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average fall counts of one to two birds, and a maximum count of four, on dates ranging from 8 August to 24 October. He listed only two spring records: 8 on 3 June 1918 and a single bird on 16 and 26 May 1936.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 112 times, in the middle third of all shorebird species in terms of frequency. More often seen in fall, with only 30 records in spring. Usually 2-3 were seen at a time. (KB 5: 69: 2A-2B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring transient and a regular, fairly common fall transient. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual very rare spring and fall transient.
Occurrence    Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 13 May to 3 June, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 18 to 26 May. Subsequently, one on 4 May 1997 (M. Peter, J. Miles, R. and S. Spahn) at Charlotte was listed as “record early.” (KB 47:202; GOS, July/August 1997) Also early: one on 9 May 1996 (T. Painting) at Irondequoit. (GOS, July/August 1996) These were apparently overlooked when six on 11 May 2002 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach were reported “record early.” (GNR) In most years had departed by 6 June, with a late departure date of 21 June (1977). Though considered uncommon in spring, our best tallies have occurred at that season when unfavorable weather grounds northbound birds. Note the narrow range of dates when this has occurred.
Spring maxima:       60 on 27 May 1964 (Listman) west lakeshore. (KB 14:161)       46 on 31 May 1958 (Kemnitzer) Salmon Creek. (GNR)     119 on 1 June 2003 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, September 2003)     100 on 1 June 1961 (Listman) migrating past Braddock Bay. (KB11: 157)       75 on 2 June 1962 (Genesee Ornithological Society trip) migrating at Braddock Bay. (KB12: 147)       44 and 56 on 3 June 1998 (Marcotte/Symonds) at Charlotte and Hamlin Beach SP. (GOS, September 1998)     100+ on 4 June 1984 (R. Spahn) at Charlotte. (GOS, July/August 1984)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 23 July (1948, 1960) to 14 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 30 July to 20 August. Subsequently, one on 18 July 1987 (R. Spahn) at Irondequoit Bay was record early. (GOS, August/September 1987) In most years had departed by 17 October, with a late departure date of 28 November 1959, when one was at Manitou (KB 9:161). Almost invariably found on lakefront beaches and piers. However, when Hurricane Frances dumped more than five inches of rain on the region on 8-9 September 2004, these were being found in flooded farm fields as well. (LG, December 2004)
Fall maxima:     12 on 6 August 1988 (Griffith, Oswald) Charlotte, Point Breeze. (GOS, October 1988)     18 on 5 September 1959 (Listman) at Manitou. (GNR)
Misc.
These birds are often unwary and easily approached, especially if the observer remains still in one place. This birder encountered one such bird on the Charlotte Pier on 7 September 1990. “It . . . worked its way along the river edge of the pier, deliberately following the contour of the metal edging – out and in, out and in. It got closer and closer (to me) and it soon became apparent that as it walked it bent over the side with its head to grab small gnat-like insects that were clinging to the metal sides of the pier. I stood still and it kept walking towards me and actually passed within two to three feet of me as I stood next to the rope. I was literally looking down on its back as it went by.” (Marcotte diary entry)In 1944, Edson could recall “only once in the many years of observation,” having seen it on the river far from the lake. “This was during the deepening of the upper river when large sections of the river-bed had been raised to the surface by blasting, thus bringing food to their liking within reach.” (WBR, 29 August 1944)

Red Knot

(formerly American Knot)Calidris canutus    A stout, chunky looking shorebird at Charlotte on 10 September 1988 absolutely baffled this observer when he was first getting serious about birding. Despite a drab overall appearance, the shorebird had a beautiful pattern of thin light edging on its scapulars and wing coverts, creating an intricate scalloping effect utterly unlike anything he had seen up to that time. But he was frustrated that it did not seem to match any of the drawings in his National Geographic Field Guide. What was this bird? Was another exciting “lifer” about to slip through his grasp? Not until he arrived home, and began leafing through the photographs in his Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding, did the bird suddenly leap off a page: A juvenile Red Knot. A lifer, indeed, and an illustration of why sometimes a birder needs to consult more than one field guide!
Background
North American populations of this species migrate extraordinary distances, from breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra of northern Alaska and north of Hudson Bay, to as far as Tierra del Fuego, 15,000 kilometers away. They are classic “jump” migrants. At some stages of the migration a very high percentage of the entire population may use a single coastal staging site to prepare for the next long-distance leg of the journey. Protection of these areas, such as Delaware Bay where these shorebirds feast on the eggs of spawning Horseshoe Crabs in spring, is critical to the species’ survival. The total North American population probably numbers less than a million. This species also breeds in central Russia and Greenland. (BNA 563: 1-3, 5, 11)
Local history
By the early 1900s, its numbers had been severely depleted by indiscriminate hunting, and was listed by Eaton (1910) as only an occasional migrant in Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only two records: single birds on 4 September 1934 and 1 November 1936. Ambrose Secker, commenting on the status of this bird in 1950, noted that there had since been records of “as high as five birds in a flock” and “certainly it can be seen regularly but sparingly in this area, if the lakeshore can be covered consistently.” (GOS, June/August 1950) Even so, Edson in 1950 considered this “one of our rarer shorebirds.” (WBR, 14 August 1950) Indeed, when Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported only 47 times, putting it in the bottom third of all shorebirds here in frequency of occurrence. Usually no more than 2-3 were seen at a time. Only eight of the records were in spring. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)    Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an occasional, uncommon to fairly common spring transient and a regular, fairly common fall transient. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual very rare fall transient. It is very rare away from the lake, with Fox listing only two records, both at Hemlock Lake on 16 and 29 August 1981, possibly the same bird. (Fox, p. 48)
Occurrence   Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 1 May to 16 June, with a mid range of 26 May to 6 June. However, one lingered unaccountably all of June until 15 July 1998 (Marcotte) at Charlotte. (LG, September 1998) Another on 22 June 1989 (Sherony) at Irondequoit Bay outlet fell between record late for spring and record early for fall, with no indication in the noteworthies list as to which it should be considered. (GOS, October 1989)
Spring maxima:        7 on 21 May 1983 (R. Spahn) at Hamlin Beach SP. (GNR)       9 on 29 May 2005 (Symonds) Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, July/August 2005))     39 on 1 June 1964 (Listman) at west spit of Braddock Bay. (GOS, September 1964)       8 on 3 June 1998 (Marcotte) Charlotte. (GOS, September 1998)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 4 July to 19 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 17 August to 1 September. In most years had departed by 9 October, with a late departure date of 1 November.Almost invariably found on lakefront beaches and piers. However, when Hurricane Frances dumped more than five inches of rain on the region on 8-9 September 2004, these were being found in flooded farm fields as well, (LG, December 2004) Though considered regular in fall, there were no reports during all of 2006. (LG, February 2007)
Fall maxima:       7 on 28 August 1981 (R. Spahn et al) Charlotte. (GNR)     10 on 31 August 1958 (Burroughs-Audubon hike) at Braddock Bay. (GNR)      15 on 7 September 1957 (Listman, Schaefer, McKinney) along the west lakeshore. (Unpublished GOS noteworthy sightings)       7 on 12 September 1959 (Starling) at Braddock Bay. (GNR)     59 on 15 September 1982 (Perrigo, Symonds) at Hamlin Beach (LGNR) when an east wind produced a spectacular shorebird flight past            Hamlin Beach SP. (BA, 23 September 1982)      7 on 15-17 September 1986 (mob) at Charlotte. (GOS, November 1986)

Ruff

Calidris pugnax (formerly Philomachus pugnax)
On 9 October 1949 “a steaming hot day with a high temperature of 88,” Howard Miller and L. H. Paul noticed an “unusual appearing shorebird” amid Pectoral Sandpipers on a mud flat just south of Empire Boulevard and just west of Irondequoit Creek. “The remnants of an ear tuft on the left side of the bird’s head gave the first clue as to the identity of the bird,” Miller wrote. The Ruff was apparently the first western New York sighting of this Eurasian species, Edson reported (WBR, 17 October 1949). “Once only, in a pugnacious move toward a pectoral, was the complete ruff exhibited,” Miller added. “It was black, or very dark blue-black, in color.” The bird was seen again 15 October and then, “much to the surprise of both observers,” a second Ruff was seen in the same vicinity. “This bird was in almost if not complete winter plumage, distinctly different from that of the first bird.” The second bird was not seen again, but the first one was observed as late as 6 November. (GOS, January-March 1950)
Background
This Eurasian bird breeds primarily across northern Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia into Siberia. It also shows up regularly in North America. Breeding males are unmistakable. Even birds in nonbreeding plumage stand out. “Much of (its) special ‘jizz’ is accounted for by odd shape: head is rather small, bill is shortish and slightly drooped, neck is longish, and body rather deep-bellied and hump-backed,” notes Shorebirds: An Identification Guide (Hayman, pp. 208, 386-387).
Local history
Subsequent sightings here peaked with as many as five in 1977. However, sightings here and statewide have declined significantly since then (Levine, p. 263). NYSARC, noting “significantly fewer reports” in recent years compared to a decade or more ago, added Ruff in 2006 to its list of species that should be submitted for review. “Reasons for this steep decline are uncertain,” the committee noted. (KB 56: 227) Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, very rare spring and fall visitant. However, sightings have been only occasional since the mid 1980s.
Occurrence
Only 17 records here. The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 29 April to 21 June in spring and from 13 August to 6 November.
1. One to two all of October -6 November 1949 (Miller et al) near the Float Bridge, Irondequoit Bay (GNR). 2. Another, different bird, on 2 November 1949 (Kemnitzer) near the Float Bridge, Irondequoit Bay (GNR) 3. One 16-17 May 1965 (Foley, Foster, Listman) at Hilton (KB 15:166) 4. One Ruff (Reeve) 23 April-2 May 1972 (mob) Hamlin (KB 22:128) 5. One 14 August 1976 (R. Spahn) Braddock Bay (KB 26:215) 6. One 12 May 1977 (D. and M. Tetlow, Sherony) Perinton (KB 27:152) 7. One Reeve 13 May 1977 (R. and S. Spahn, mob) Perinton (KB 27:152) 8. One Reeve (different from one in Perinton) 27-28 May 1977 (Carlson, RBA) Northrup Creek (KB 27:152) 9. One male displaying 21 June 1977 (F. Dobson, mob) Northrup Creek (KB 27:218) 10. One 31 August 1977 (R. Spahn) Charlotte (KB 27:218) 11. One 22 October 1980 (Henderson) Hamlin (KB 31:26) 12. One 5 June 1983 (R. Spahn) Perinton (KB 33:267) 13. One male 12 May 1985 (R. and S. Spahn) Hogan Point (KB 35:187) 14. Two 25 August 1985 (Hampson) Shore Acres (KB 35:266) 15. One 17 May 1986 (McKinney, O’Hara) Hogan Point (KB 36:149) 16. One Reeve 22-23 May 1993 (Sherony, mob) Perinton (KB 43:222) 17. One male 11 October 2004 (D. Tetlow) Hamlin (KB 55:51)

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Calidris acuminata
Dominic Sherony first saw this species in Hong Kong in 1994. For years, he watched for a wandering bird to show up in our area. “Although most eastern US sightings are from the coast, I didn’t think there was any reason why an Asian stray could not be found upstate.” He found it at the south end of Irondequoit Bay on 10 October 2002. It was the fourth bird he looked at in a group of Pectoral Sandpipers. “My attention was immediately drawn to the bird by the very reddish cap, which showed up extremely well in the sunlight,” he wrote. After confirming this species’ other field markings, then taking a second look to be sure, he began calling other birders who confirmed this, our first and only regional sighting. The first-year bird stayed four days – despite being spooked by a Peregrine Falcon the second day – allowing more than 200 birders to observe it. (KB 52: 330-333) In addition to the reddish cap, the wider white supercilium above and just behind the eye, the white throat, and the relatively unmarked buffy breast helped distinguish it from the Pectorals with which it associated.
Background
This breeder in Siberian tundra is “generally less numerous and apparently more specialized in habitat” than the closely related Pectoral Sandpiper. It winters in Australia and New Zealand, “where it is one of the commonest and most widespread visiting waders,” but occasionally wanders to our East Coast. “In some years, a few birds apparently join eastward movement of Pectorals from Siberia across North America and even reach western Europe. . . The beautifully-marked juvenile remains distinct in the field at least until late Nov.” (Hayman, pp. 376-77). According to the NYSARC 2002 annual report (KB 54: 292), the only previous accepted NYS record was of an adult at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on 18-24 July 1981 (Burke 1998).
Status
Exotic, very rare visitant.
Occurrence
Sherony’s first-year bird on 10-13 October 2002 at Irondequoit Bay is our region’s only sighting. (KB 52:330-333 has detailed description and photos) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 54: 292)

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus
“With one exception all the sandpipers and shorebirds keep their eyes above water when feeding,” Edson observed in 1941 – and with good reason. The beaches and mudflats where they congregate are dangerously exposed to hawks and other predators, and it behooves the shorebirds to be constantly on the lookout. “The stilt sandpiper is that exception,” Edson noted, adding “This proves a good field mark, especially if they are in a group containing lesser yellowlegs, as their long legs and other markings are not sufficiently different from that bird for easy and certain identification . . . “How they dare to submerge their entire heads while feeding is difficult to understand, but they make it a constant practice.” (WBR, 4 August 1941) While it is a bit of an overstatement to suggest that only Stilt Sandpipers, among all the shorebirds, ever submerge their heads while feeding, there is some truth in Edson’s observation: Unlike most Calidris sandpipers, the Stilt avoids tidal mudflats in favor of pools or lagoons, where it forages in belly-deep water – and thus must unavoidably submerge its head to probe the bottom. Moreover, it is easy to see why identification of this species may have been problematic in the days when birders were hampered by primitive optics. When seen at a distance, a small group of these birds, surrounded by superficially similar-looking yellowlegs, might easily be passed over. Indeed, “the Stilt Sandpiper remained largely unknown to ornithologists or even to gunners, who called it the Bastard Yellowlegs because of its suspected intermediacy, or perhaps hybrid origin, between dowitchers and yellowlegs,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. (BNA 341: 1) Background
This species breeds exclusively in North America, occupying wet tundra areas across extreme northern Alaska and Canada, and along sections of Hudson Bay. Its main migration route in spring is through the central states, with as many as 54,900 counted at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kan., on 11 May 1986. Fall migration is on a broader front, with some adults appearing as far east as Long Island. Total breeding population is probably not much more than 50,000. It has decreased significantly as a breeder at Churchill, Manitoba where there has been overgrazing of nesting areas by Canada and Snow geese; it has increased significantly as a migrant in Alberta and a breeder near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, suggesting a possible shift in range to the west. (BNA 341: 1-2, 4, 6, 14)
Local history
Prior to 1938 it was considered “very rare” in our area, Edson noted. (WBR, 17 August 1959) For example, Eaton (1910) lists no occurrence for Monroe, Livingston or Wayne Counties (Eaton I: county charts), and Horsey makes no mention of the species in his Rochester/Monroe County list for 1913 to 1936. However, after 1938 it was recorded nearly every year from mid July into October, but even then seldom more than five to six at a time, Edson added. That was borne out when Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954. He found this species reported 57 times, but none of the records were in spring, and the best average counts were 5-7 in late August. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)“One or two birds are seen here in company with the yellow-legs and dowitcher,” Edson reported in 1956. (WBR, 23 July 1956) However, by 1959 there was a “considerable buildup,” culminating in 45 along the ponds and bays from Ling Road to Shore Acres (Listman et al) on 8 August. (KB9:124; WBR, 17 August 1959)How much of this increase was real and how much simply better observation is open to question.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon to fairly common fall transient and an occasional, very rare spring transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this casual rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 16 April to 12 June.Bull (1974) said this species had been reported inland in New York state on only three occasions in spring by experienced observers, including 11 May 1952 (Hall) and 18 May 1969 (Foster), both at Hamlin Beach. (Bull, p. 249)Four on 21 May 1976 (Perrigo) were at Parma. (LG, June 1976)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 7 July (1968) to 3 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 15 July to 18 August. Outside Monroe County, one on 4 July 1984 (Davids) at Point Breeze was earlier. (GOS, September 1984) In most years had departed by 8 October, with a late departure date of 8 November (1958). Fall maxima: 45 on 8 August 1959 (Listman, Lloyd) west lakeshore. (GNR) 14 on 1 September 2001 (Davids, D. Tetlow) at Salmon Creek. (LG, November 2001) 46 on 4 September 1988 (Reinhardt) at south end Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, November 1988) 28 on 14 September 1987 (Reinhardt) at Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, November 1987)

Sanderling

Calidris alba
As the chill of autumn deepens with the approach of winter, this is one of the most reliable shorebirds to be found on our lakefront beaches, wearing ghostly pale plumage and “usually seen running in troops along the hard packed sand, advancing as each wave recedes and retreating as the next advances, gleaning the small mollusks, crustaceans and insects which are washed up on the shore.” (Eaton I: 320) During a beginner’s field trip at Ontario Beach on 11 September 2004 “it was especially fun to watch the Sanderlings. When chasing each other, one bird would ruffle up its back feathers, almost like a dog raising its fur, and droop its wings and tail as it charged at the other bird.” (LG, October 2004)
Background
In winter, this sandpiper can be found across a staggering range of latitudes, from southern British Columbia (50 degrees north) and Massachusetts (42 degrees north) to southern Chile and Argentina (50 degrees south), scampering ahead of incoming waves on sandy beaches. During the breeding season it nests in small, shallow depressions in the ground in the high-arctic tundra of Canada, Greenland and Siberia. Individuals make only a few stops at selected sites during migration. International Shorebird Survey data showed 43 percent of the total population at 10 of 413 sites in fall, and 68 percent at 10 of 128 sites in spring. This is one of the species, for example, that times its arrival at Delaware Bay in spring to coincide with the egg-laying period of horsehoe crabs. As many as 38,000 gather there. From Delaware Bay these birds fly nonstop to the Arctic, covering 4,000 km in 2-3 days. Though breeding grounds are remote from human disturbance, global warming could affect them; this species is also vulnerable because of its heavy reliance on relatively few migration stopover points. North American population has been estimated at 300,000. (BNA 653: 1, 5, 15, 18, 20)
Local history
“In western New York the Sanderling is not often observed in spring, but sometimes occurs late in May when the southern birds are hurrying to their breeding grounds,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He considered this a fairly common migrant at Monroe County, but only occasional at Wayne County, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: 320, county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated this was almost exclusively a fall migrant, with average counts of two to 15 birds, and a maximum count of 50, on dates ranging from 18 July to 3 November. He listed only one spring record: a single bird on 16 May 1921.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 127 times, with only three of the records in spring. Average counts of 7-10 occurred during the southbound migration. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)“After the waves of Semipalmated Sandpipers have passed through in July and August, the Sanderling appears in increasing numbers,” Beardslee and Mitchell (1965) wrote, “and by mid-September is usually the commonest small shorebird.” (B&M, p. 236)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a sporadic, rare spring transient and a regular, fairly common to common fall transient. Seen primarily on beaches along Lake Ontario. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a very rare spring and fall transient.
Occurrence    Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 16 April to 11 June (1951), with a mid range of 16 May to 1 June. Good numbers are possible when inclement weather causes grounding in spring.
Spring maxima:      25 on 26 May 1989 (P. and J. Spindler) Charlotte. (GOS, September 1989)      26 on 30 May 1958 (Kemnitzer) Irondequoit Bay outlet. (GNR)      30 on 31 May 1993 (Marcotte) at Charlotte. (GOS, July/August 1993)      30 on 2 June 1962 (Listman) west lakeshore. (GOS, September 1962)      70 on 3 June 1998 (Marcotte) at Charlotte. (GOS, September 1998)      20 on 4 June 1989 (Griffith) Charlotte. (GOS, October 1989)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 25 June (1960) to 21 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 23 July to 7 August. In most years had departed by 24 November, with a late departure date of 3 January. This is well after most other shorebirds have passed through. Almost invariably found on lakefront beaches and piers. However, when Hurricane Frances dumped more than five inches of rain on the region on 8-9 September 2004, these were being found in flooded farm fields as well. (LG, December 2004)
Fall maxima:        150 on 21 July 1988 (O’Hara, Davids) at Point Breeze. (GOS, August/September 1988)        125 on 24 July 1974 (Folker and O’Hara’s) at Summerville. (KB 24:189)         80-120 on 20 August 1990 (C. Cass, McKinney) at Charlotte. (GOS, October 1990)        130 on 28 August 1980 (Griffith) west lakeshore. (LG, September 1980)        100 on 14 September 1963 (Listman) Sodus Bay. (GOS, November 1963)
Winter: Occasionally lingers in winter. One was at Russell Station outlet 12 January through 3 March 2003 (D. Tetlow, Davids, et al) when a Killdeer, Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin were also there, a “once in a lifetime” congregation of winter shorebirds along a single stretch of gravel beach. (KB53: 140, 234)

Dunlin

(formerly Red-backed Sandpiper)Calidris alpina
Eaton (1910) described how large flocks of these birds would “sweep along the coast or over the marshes like clouds, now showing the glistening white of their under parts, and now their leaden backs, as they swiftly wheel to come up the wind and alight on the muddy flats, to scatter immediately” in search of prey. “When frightened, or flying, they utter a hoarse, grating note.” (Eaton I: 316)In November 1984, Frank Dobson witnessed just such a flight from a parking lot overlooking the lake along Lakeshore Boulevard at Durand Eastman Park. It was a raw morning, with a strong northwest wind. “The biggest surprise was a cloud of perhaps 300 shorebirds that suddenly materialized, with whitish undersides and grey wings flapping rapidly. Flying erratically, but with every bird always making the same move, a huge flock of winter plumaged dunlins moved on toward the east.” (Birds, 25 November 1984) “With every bird making the same move…” How do they do that? More on that below.    Background
As many as nine races of Dunlin breed from Iceland and Greenland, through Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. In North America, this species nests on subarctic and arctic coastal tundra from southwestern Alaska north and east to James Bay, wintering primarily along the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Falcons take a particularly heavy toll of these birds on their wintering grounds. This is one of the last shorebirds to leave the breeding grounds, with most adults and juveniles migrating together. The population of the western North American race was estimated at 450,000 to 600,000 in 1994; numbers for the other two North American races were not available. There is concern that this species is declining continent-wide, but absence of range-wide monitoring prevents reliable assessments. (BNA 203:1, 4, 15-16)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a fairly common transient visitor in Monroe and Wayne, but gave no record of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm in spring, with a maximum count of 19, on dates ranging from 21 to 30 May. He gave average fall counts of one to eight birds, with a maximum count of 50, on dates ranging from 10 August to 8 November.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 180 times, ranking 11th among shorebirds in frequency of occurrence. Fifty-seven of the sightings were in spring. Best average counts, 30-50, were in early November. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)      Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common to very common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular fairly common) spring transient and a (presumably occasional fairly common) fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 12 April (1981) to 30 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 17 April to 13 May. However, one on 13 March 1982 (Kesselring) at Buck Pond was earlier (GOS, May 1982). So was one on 8 March 2003 (W. Symonds, R. Spahn, D. Tetlow) at Hamlin Beach. (GNR) Neither sighting is indicated as record early. However, two on 2 April 2005 (Kimball) at Geneseo are. (KB 55:271)  In most years had departed by 6 June, with a late departure date of 5 July. Note, however, that one seen on that date in 1971 (Listman) at Island Cottage, actually lingered until 31 July, neatly bridging the gap between record late for spring and record early for fall. (GOS, October 1971)     Ten on 8 April 1980 (Davids) at Hamlin was a good tally for so early in the season. (LG, June 1980)
Spring maxima:        400 on 18 May 1980 (D. Sherony, D. Tetlow) lakeshore. (GOS, July 1980)     2,470 – of which 1,200 were at Braddock Bay (mob), 670 at Irondequoit Bay (Kemnitzer), and 600 at Sodus Bay (D. M. and T. Tetlow) – on 21 May 1978 after a “bitter cold front” and a “howling west gale” left shorebirds grounded in a “one-day flight that will not soon be repeated.” (LG, June 1978)     2,240 on 23 May 2004 (D. Tetlow, T. Smart) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, July/August 2004)      1,600+ on 26 May 1983 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, June 1983)        430 on 27 May 2005 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, July/August 2005)        390 on 1 June 2003 (Symonds) Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, September 2003)
Fall: One of our latest migrating shorebirds. The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 29 July (1951) to 30 October, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 9 to 27 September, later than any other Calidris except Purple Sandpiper. Subsequently, two at Charlotte on 23 July 1994 (P. Spindler) set a new record early fall date. (GOS, September 1994)  In most years had departed by 9 December, with a late departure date of 6 January. Good late-season tallies included 5-7 on 1 December 1985 (Stear, Bouton) Braddock Bay (GOS, February 1986) and 6 on 24 December 1998 (P. and J. Spindler) Braddock Bay. (GOS, February 1999)        Fall maxima:      350 on 14 October 1978 (F. and R. Dobson) east lakeshore. (GOS, December 1978)     307 on 15 October 2003 (D. Tetlow) at Hamlin. (LG, December 2003)     375 on 19 October 2004 (R. Spahn, Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, December 2004)     800 on 24 October 1976 (R. and F. Dobson) west lakeshore. (GOS, December 1976)      400 on 26 October 1959 (Listman) Long Pond. (GNR)     900 on 31 October 1974 (Ladwig, N. Henderson) at Braddock Bay. (GNR)     300 on 1 November 2001 (C. and R. McKinney, O’Hara) at Salmon Creek. (GOS, January 2002)     500 on 5 November 1957 (Listman) at Shore Acres and Braddock Bay. (GOS, January-February 1958)     300 on 7 November 1976 (F. and R. Dobson) west lakeshore. (GOS, January 1977)     300 on 13 November 1984 (F. Dobson) off Durand-Eastman. (GOS, January 1985)     This is one of the last shorebirds seen in fall; not surprisingly, individuals occasionally linger well into winter months. One on 23 December 1954 (Van Beurden) was at the Ling Road marsh. (GOS, November/December 1954) Another 27 December 1959 (O’Hara, mob) was at Russell Station, on 28 December 1971 (Listman) at Sodus Bay and on 3 January 1974 (M Carlson et al) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) Region 2 Kingbird reports mention January or early February sightings of this species in five of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. They include:      One 6 January 1985 (Sherony, T. Tetlow) at Charlotte. (LG, March 1985)      One 12 January 1992 (G. Chapin, Sherony) at Irondequoit Bay. (LG, February 1992)      One to two throughout January 1993 (mob) at Charlotte and Russell Station. (KB43: 125)       One 6-9 January 1997 (D. and D. Traver et al) at Russell Station. (LG, February 1997)      One 12 January-19 February 2003 (D. Tetlow, Davids, mob) at Russell Station with that “once in a lifetime” midwinter shorebird gathering that also included Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper and Killdeer. (KB 53: 140, 142)     Misc.
Especially noteworthy was a Dunlin in full juvenal plumage documented and photographed by Dominic Sherony on 30 August 2003. Dunlin in this plumage “are rather rare in NYS, even on the coast where the species occurs in huge numbers,” NYSARC noted. Unlike most other shorebirds, in which southbound adults arrive earlier than juveniles, a few juvenile Dunlin are usually among the vanguard arriving on Long Island in September, but even they are usually already molting. And this was an early date as well. (KB 56:11)The ability of large flocks of Dunlin and other species to wheel in flight in the same direction, seemingly in unison, has fascinated observers for probably as long as humans have watched birds. Is there some kind of “thought transference” or “electromagnetic communication” at work, as some investigators have theorized? By filming flocks of Dunlin, Wayne K. Potts of Utah State University came up with his “chorus-line hypothesis of maneuver coordination in avian flocks.” As Potts explained in a 1984 edition of Nature magazine, 2,000 feet of slow motion 16-mm film was taken of Dunlin flocks maneuvering at Puget Sound, Washington. Some of the maneuvers were spontaneous, some were induced “by shooting an arrow near an airborne flock.”When the film was analyzed, frame-by-frame, here’s what Potts found: The evasive maneuvers were invariably initiated by only one, two or three birds, and then communicated visually to the rest of the flock. Maneuvers “always propagated through the flock in a wave. . . . These waves were observed to travel along every major axis (including back to front), indicating that maneuvers may be initiated from any region of the flock.” But when hundreds, even thousands of birds are involved, why isn’t there a more discernible delay in the reaction time of the birds at the tail end of the maneuver?That gets us to the heart of Potts’ theory. The films showed that, at the start of the maneuver, those flock members closest to the birds initiating the change were “delayed by at least their own reaction time.” However, as the maneuver spread through the flock, the ability of birds to react reached speeds “three times higher than would be possible if birds were simply reacting to their immediate neighbors.”In other words, the birds were reacting much as humans would on a chorus line: “individuals observe the approaching maneuver wave and time their own execution to coincide with its arrival,” independent of what their immediate neighbors are doing. Indeed, films taken of human chorus lines indicate that rehearsed maneuvers, initiated without warning, “propagate from person to person” about twice as fast as normal visual reaction time, Potts notes.

Purple Sandpiper

Calidris maritime
When Rnews channel 9 wanted to do a TV news feature on Rochester birding during fall 2006, Richard Ashworth of the Rochester Birding Association met a reporter and cameraman at Irondequoit Bay outlet. Ashworth, as always, was a perfect spokesman, articulating with his British accent exactly why birding is such an appealing hobby. And it didn’t hurt when Ashworth, leading the Rnews team out the pier, suddenly stopped with an exclamation of joy, and pointed out a Purple Sandpiper, which obligingly posed for the camera at close range!,This highly-sought shorebird is primarily a fall/winter visitor here, and usually in very small numbers. But when it does occur, it can be quite tame.This birder marveled as one of these birds clung to the rocks of the Irondequoit Bay jetty on 23-24 November 1991, even as the water washed over it. “The neatest thing about this bird is watching it work its way along really steep, slippery rocks. It must have really sharp claws, to be able to hold on. A couple of times I see its feet slip out and slide from under it, but it very nonchalantly regains its grip. . . Several times the water washed up around its feet and belly, but no problem, it kept picking at the algae-coated rocks for food. . . . I would have to say this is one of the most interesting shorebirds I’ve ever watched.” (Marcotte diary entry) The next day it nestled into a little cavity on top of one of the boulders to rest, “while I sat eight feet away taking pictures in full sun.”  “Did you pay it to sit there like that for you,” one passerby wondered!
Background
This highly agile shorebird is adept at hopping from rock to rock where the wave action is heaviest, fluttering to avoid spray and swimming when lifted by the water. Its distribution in winter lies farther north than any other shorebird, ranging along exposed rocky seacoasts on both sides of the North Atlantic, and in Iceland and Greenland. During the breeding season it occupies mossy tundra, heath, moorlands and beaches in Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. Southbound migrants occur regularly, but rarely in the eastern Great Lakes region in fall; in spring, Iceland is important to migrating sandpipers when invertebrate-rich seaweed wracks are present along high-tide lines. During northbound migration at least some Purple Sandpipers may reach the Canadian High Arctic via staging areas in Iceland and across the Greenland icecap. Further research is needed to verify routes, but this may suggest a more easterly route in spring, and help explain why this species has only been recorded once in our region at that time of year. Global population may be 200,000 or more. North American winter populations have been estimated at 16,000, many along the coast of Maine. Studies suggest populations declining in some areas; whether overall numbers are increasing or decreasing is not known due to lack of systematic information. (BNA 706: 1, 3, 5-7, 11, 24)
Local history
Eaton (1910) indicated there had been but one record in Monroe County, apparently referring to one taken by “Mr. Bruce from Lake Ontario in the spring of 1883.” (Eaton I: 309, county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only one record: 3 on 8-9 November 1936. They were seen at Rock Beach (between Summerville and Durand-Eastman Park), Edson reported. (WBR 16 November 1936) Another was at Braddock’s Bay in November 1939. (WBR 13 November 1939) Four sightings in November and December 1948 (GOS, November-December 1948) along the lakeshore were the first seen “in many years.” However, by the early 1950s, Edson said one to two were seen each fall at a pebbly beach at Braddock Bay’s west spit. (WBR 1 December 1952, 15 November 1954, 13 November 1961) “These few yards of shore-line is the only spot we know of these birds being observed in this area.”When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported eight times, all single birds in fall. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)“Most of the Purple sandpipers seen here have been found among the great boulders, stone heaps and broken breakwater concrete between Braddock Bay and the lake, but a closer, regular scrutiny of other rocky shore areas would probably turn them up,” John Brown noted in 1957. (BA, 5 Dec 1957)Walt Listman and Allen Kemnitzer found five on the beach near the pier at Sodus Point in November 1966. (BA, Dec. 1, 1966) There was talk in the fall of 1976 that the rock groins, installed at Hamlin Beach SP to protect the shore and trap the sand, provided perfect habitat for these shorebirds. So Robert and Sue Spahn took at close look and “there the bird was, on the algae-covered rocks at the end of one of the groins where it subsequently posed obligingly for close-range observation and photographs.” (BA, 3 November 1976)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, uncommon fall transient and a casual, very rare spring transient (one record). For all intents and purposes, however, it is a regular fall/winter visitor, with records every year but four for the period 1966-2005.
Occurrence
About 100 records from 1948 through 2006, nearly two thirds of them occurring in November.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 25 October to 3 December, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 1 to 10 November. This either overlooked or discarded an earlier record on 20 October 1973 (GOS hike) at Hamlin Beach. (KB 24:18, GNR) Also early: One on 22 October 1993 (McKinney, O’Hara, Griffith) at Braddock Bay and Rigney Bluff. (GNR, KB 44:41) In most years had departed by 12 December, with a late departure date of 3 January. A subsequent record late bird was at Ontario Beach on 8 February 2006 (see Winter below).Watch the rocky jetties and breakers at Irondequoit Bay outlet, the mouth of the Genesee River, and at Hamlin Beach SP. At least 11, with a maximum of five at one time, were reported in October/November 1981. (KB 32:40, GNR, LGNR) Nine, with a maximum of three at a time, were reported in November/December 2001. (KB 52:59, 152)
Fall maxima: 5 on 28 October 2007 (Sherony, J. Skelly) Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, December 2007) 5, 1 on 31 October 1981 (Davids) at Braddock Bay and Charlotte. (GNR) 5 on 10 November 1969 (Doherty, Miller) at west spit, Braddock Bay. (GNR) 5 on 11-26 November 1966 (Kemnitzer, Listman, S. Taylor) Sodus Bay. (GNR, KB 17:31) 4 on 7 November 1983 (mob) at Hamlin Beach. (LG, December 1983)
Winter: Five January records, all since 1992, no doubt reflecting the increased emphasis on Big January counts. One lingered until 3 February 2003 when that “once in a lifetime” midwinter gathering of shorebirds at Russell Station also included a Killdeer, a Sanderling and a Dunlin. (KB 53: 140-142)Another was at Ontario Beach 22 January 2006 for the benefit of 20 participants on an RBA Beginner’s Field Trip who were able to approach within 50 feet and observe it for half an hour. (LG, February 2006) That bird remained until 8 February. (LG, April 2006; KB 56:151)
Spring: The only spring bird reported here, other than the earlier reference by Eaton, was found on 21 May 1967 by Richard O’Hara and his Big Day party. It was “feeding on the moss-covered roots of one of the big willows at the west spit of Braddock Bay.” It was “observed with a ‘zoom scope’ and binoculars as close as 15 feet; the dull orange legs and base of the bill, general shape and streaked breast were noted by all observers.” (BA, 25 May 1967; KB 17:158)

Baird’s Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii
Part of Walt Listman’s success as a birder was his willingness to “keep fairly close tabs on the shifting avian populations no matter how execrable the weather,” Birds Afield columnist John Brown noted. November 1968, for example, brought premature snowstorms and wintry weather in their wake. But that didn’t keep Listman from keeping watch at Braddock Bay. On 8 December, “he was surprised to the point of amazement to find on the west spit a Baird’s sandpiper feeding on small items of food splashed up on the shore ice by the waves,” Brown reported. “Its occurrence here, even at the height of the shorebird migration, is always remarkable. To find it on the lake shore in mid-December just adds a little more to the fascinating mystery of shorebird migration.” (BA, 12 December 1968)
Background
This sandpiper, whose folded wings extend well beyond the tip of its tail, is remarkable for its flights to and from its high arctic breeding grounds in North America and parts of Russia. It is also remarkable for what it does once it reaches those breeding grounds. “It makes one of the largest investments in egg production known in birds. In a stunning feat of energy conversion, the female lays a clutch that is up to 120 percent of her body mass in four days, shortly after arriving in the Arctic, with essentially no stored fat,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. These long-distance migrants go as far south as Tierra del Fuego, “many completing the entire 15,000 kilometer journey in as few as five weeks.” Often fairly tame during migration and usually seen in small groups, often apart from other shorebirds. Spring migration is primarily through the middle of the North American continent, with few coastal records. In fall, adults again migrate midcontinent, but juveniles migrate on a broader front that includes the coasts. North American population estimated at 300,000 and apparently secure. (BNA 661:1, 3, 4, 14)
Local history
“It was overlooked by the early ornithologists, and can be recognized with certainty only when collected and carefully examined,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He listed it as an uncommon migrant for Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in Wayne or Livingston. (Eaton I: 312, county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated this had been recorded only in fall, with single birds the norm, and a maximum count of only four, on dates ranging from 22 July to 24 October. That remained true in the early 1950s. When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 79 times, but only southbound. There were no records in spring, and even during the fall migration average counts were 2-3 at best. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)All the more startling, then, the 30 on 25 September 1958 (Listman) at Salmon Creek. (GNR)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an occasional, very rare spring transient and a regular, uncommon fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 11 May (1962) to 13 June (1950). Outside the county, one on 1 May 1979 (R. Clark) at Murray was even earlier. (LG, June 1979) One on 14 June 1989 (Sherony, D. and M. Tetlow) at Irondequoit Bay outlet was later. (GOS, October 1989)Much less frequently seen in spring. “Adult Baird’s Sandpipers returning from the South American wintering grounds normally migrate northwards along the Rockies and are rarely encountered in the eastern half of the continent,” NYSARC notes. (KB52: 298) “The vast majority of Baird’s Sandpipers recorded in New York are southbound juveniles.” Nonetheless, there are at least a half-dozen spring records here:
One on 8 June 1949 (Folker, O’Hara) at Braddock Bay. (B&M, p. 225; GOS, May/July 1949) One on 13 June 1950 (Bieber, Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, June/August 1950) One 11 May 1962 (Listman) at Manitou. (KB12: 91) 1-2 on 25-27 May 1976 (M. Schmale, mob) Curtis Road. (GNR) Two on 19 May 1978 (R. Spahn, Lloyd) at Perinton. (GOS, July 1978) One 1 May 1979 (R. Clark) at Murray. (LG, June 1979) One 14 June 1989 (Sherony, D. and M. Tetlow) at Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, October 1989) One on 7 June 2000 (Fambrough) Savannah. (KB 52:298) Two on 30 May 2004 (M. Tetlow) Sodus Bay. (LG, July/August 2004)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 18 July (1948) to 10 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 8 to 26 August. In most years had departed by 28 October, with a late departure date of 21 December (1956) when Listman found one at Manitou. (GNR)
Fall maxima: 12 (3 adults, 9 juveniles) on 22 August 2004 (Symonds, D. Tetlow) at Hamlin Beach (LG, October 2004) with another 17 tallied at various points the following month. (GOS, December 2004) 10, 5 on 1 September 1957 (Listman/Miller, Rising) along the west lakeshore/Manitou. (GNR) 10 on 4 September 1959 (Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 8 on 6 September 1970 (Listman) at Kendall. (GNR) 8 on 12 September 1953 (Van Beurden) along the lakeshore. (GOS, September/October 1953) 30 on 25 September 1958 (Listman) at Salmon Creek. (GNR)

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla
“Where it is not persecuted by hunters I have often seen it so unsuspicious that one was quite unable to ‘walk it up,’ the little fellows trotting along in front of the observer and gleaning, or probing, industriously for insects on every side,” Eaton (1910) wrote of our smallest sandpiper. He evidently was fond of these migrants. “ Some consider the little Sand-peeps as legitimate game and shoot them by the dozens to be made into ‘peep-pies’ which are famous delicacies in many localities along the coast, but for my part, after associating with the Little sandpipers, I am more content to eat chicken pies than to think how dozens of these harmless, interesting birds have been sacrificed for a single meal.” (Eaton I: 314)Early birders had an approach to identifying this species that might seem curious to modern observers. “In spring it is well marked, but in fall the slender bill and lack of webs between the toes are the only field marks to distinguish it and the Semi-palmated sandpiper,” Edson and Horsey noted in 1928. “About the easiest way to be sure of its identity is to look for its tracks in the wet sand, as the partly webbed feet of the Semi-palmated sandpiper make a very different track from the clean-cut foot of the Least sandpiper.” (“Bottle Brush Buckeye Beauty Despite Its Homely Nickname,” D&C, 6 August 1928)Today, observers are certainly more apt to look for leg color (yellowish in Least, black in Semipalmated), and the overall browner appearance and more neatly defined streaking on the upper breast of the Least. Note, however, Kenn Kaufman’s observation. “A valuable educational project for any North American birder: go out and look at the feet of Semi or Western, whichever you have readily available, and see this webbing (on the feet) for yourself – then look for the lack of it on a Least Sandpiper. (Beware of the effects of mud caked on toes, which can make any bird look web-footed.) Once you have observed the partial webbing on Semi and Western, you may be ready to recognize the lack of it on a stray stint.” (Kaufman, p. 83)
Background
The smallest shorebird in the world breeds in subarctic tundra and far northern boreal forest over much of Alaska and northern Canada. Despite its broad distribution, it shows little geographical variation, and no subspecies have been identified. Migrants advance across a broad front, with eastern birds apparently flying nonstop for about 70 hours over the ocean from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New England to wintering grounds in South America. Others winter in southern U.S. and Mexico. As with many calidris sandpipers, Atlantic Coast migrants show an ‘elliptical” pattern of migration. Whereas fall birds move south overseas, spring migrants return north through the southern U.S. It is less dependent on key staging sites than most other sandpipers of this genus. Raptors take a heavy toll of wintering birds – about 12 percent of 1,600 Least Sandpipers at Bolinas Lagoon, California, from October to February, with a single female Merlin accounting for 112 birds. (BNA 115: 1-3, 5, 12)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this migrant as common in Monroe County, fairly common in Wayne and also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of only six, on dates ranging from 5 May to 6 June. He gave average fall counts of one to eight birds, with a maximum count of 200, on dates ranging from 9 July to 21 October.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 214 times, less often than Semipalmated Sandpiper (274) but still the seventh most frequently encountered shorebird. Sixty-eight of the sightings were in May; best average counts were 7-10. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B) This remains one of our more common migrants wherever “peeps” are found. As with other shorebirds, “spring” migration often spills over into early summer, and “fall” migrants can appear as early as late June.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular common to very common spring transient and a regular, fairly common to common fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) fairly common to common spring transient and a (presumably regular fairly common) fall transient.
Occurrence     Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 20 April to 25 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 2 to 14 May. Four on 29 March 1986 (M. and R. McKinney) at Byron were earlier. (GOS, May 1986) Note: This was either overlooked or discarded when one on 31 March 2006 (D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay was listed as “record early.” (KB 56:241)  In most years had departed by 2 June, with a late departure date of 18 June. Note, however, that one on 18 June 1955 (Van Beurden) at Ling Road was listed as the first bird of the fall migration. (GOS, April-December 1955)Some of our best tallies have occurred in spring.
Spring maxima:      200 on 14 May 1972 (B. and G. Perrigo) Curtis Road. (GOS, July/September 1972)      100+ on 14 May 1997 (McKinney, C. Cass) at Hamlin. (GOS, July/August 1997)      150 on 14 May 1999 (Sherony) at Perinton. (LG, July/August 1999)      100+ on 18 May 1980 (mob) west lakeshore. (GNR)      185 on 19 May 2005 (Sherony, M. Tetlow) at Perinton ponds. (LG July/August 2005)       160 on 21 May 1961 (Starling, mob) at Clarkson. (KB 11:100)     1,000 on 21 May 1967 (Foster, Listman, T. Tetlow) in wet fields at Hamlin were considered “unprecedented” away from the coast. (KB17: 158; Bull, p. 260)     100 on 25 May 1969 (T. Tetlow) at Fairport. (GOS, July/September 1969)     100 on 2 June 1958 (Kemnitzers) Irondequoit Bay outlet. (GNR)
Farther inland, good Livingston County tallies include 75 on 15 May 1998 (Kimball) Geneseo airport (GOS, July/August 1998) and a maximum of 80 on 18-31 May 1948 (J. Chapin) at Groveland. (GOS, May/July 1948)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 19 June to 31 July, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 1 to 18 July. However, one on 18 June 1955 (Van Beurden) at Ling Road was listed as the first bird of the fall migration. (GOS, April-December 1955)In most years had departed by 17 October, with a late departure date of 16 November when Listman had one at the west spit in 1969. (GNR) Subsequently, four on 22 November 2005 (Sherony) at Irondequoit Bay set a new record late date. (KB 56:69) As with most sandpipers, fall adults generally arrive a month or so before juveniles
Fall maxima:      150 on 27 July 1979 (D. and R. O’Hara) at Charlotte. (GOS, September 1979)        50 on 10 August 2005 (R. Spahn) at Elba. (LG, October 2005)

White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollis
The remnants of Hurricane Frances did more than dump record rainfall amounts on our region 8-9 September 2004. It also grounded a staggering number of shorebirds along the west lakeshore. Especially notable: a whopping 484 White-rumped Sandpipers tallied by Dave Tetlow in a single field on Martin Road on the 10th. (GOS, December 2004) “It was spectacular,” noted Tetlow, who had never seen more than 16 of these normally uncommon shorebirds at a time in our region. The storm “intercepted them at just the right time” in their migration to put them down in Hamlin, rather than flying on by. It makes a birder like Tetlow wonder: “What else is flying over that, unless forced down by the weather, we don’t ever get to see?” What made this grounding even more memorable is that it came early enough in the migration so that almost all the white-rumpeds in this group – an estimated 95 percent – were adults, rather than the juveniles normally seen in this region.
Background
This shorebird undertakes one of the longest migrations in the Western Hemisphere, traveling to and from breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic to wintering areas as far south as Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. Much of the migration is accomplished in a few, long, nonstop flights of up to 60 hours each. In fall, for example, southbound migrants fly over the Atlantic from northeastern North America to northern South America; in spring, northbound birds move across the Caribbean and through interior North America to their tundra breeding grounds. These birds are thus especially dependent on a few key staging areas – such as Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas, where as many as 30,000 to 40,000 have been tallied in spring – to build up fat reserves for the next leg of their journey. No information on population trends. (BNA 29: 1, 11)
Local history
Normally this is one of our less common migrant shorebirds. Eaton (1910) listed this as an uncommon transient visitor in Monroe County, seen only occasionally in Wayne, and with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only two records: single birds on 3 September and 6 October 1936. However, by 1954, though “…seldom seen in the spring . . . every fall one or two birds are noted with mixed flocks of sandpipers,” Edson reported. (WBR, 13 December 1954) When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 54 times, with 16 of the records in spring. Usually only 1-2 birds were seen at a time. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)However, 20 on 30 August 1958 (Listman, O’Hara, Starling) were at Braddock Bay. (Unpublished GOS noteworthy sightings)Beardslee and Mitchell (1965) considered this a regular fall migrant “in limited numbers . . . apparently more common than it was a half-century ago.” It was “much more rare and irregular” in spring. (B&M, p. 225)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual rare fall transient and a casual uncommon spring transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 28 April (1962) to 29 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 15 to 23 May. O’Hara and Miller had the record early bird at Clarkson in 1962. (GNR)In most years had departed by 12 June, with a late departure date of 25 June (1967). Subsequently, one on 26 June 1985 (McKinney) at Kendall was later. (GOS, July/August 1985)
Spring maxima: 10 on 21 May 1978 (Listman, Perrigo, S. Taylor) Braddock Bay. (LG, June 1978) 14 on 21 May 1978 (Claffey, J. Skelly, Reister) Parma. (LG, June 1978) 15 max. on 15-25 May 1978 (M. Tetlow, Sherony) Perinton. (GNR) 12 max. on 24-26 May 1998 (Kimball) Geneseo airfield. (GOS, July/August 1998) 10 on 28 May 1961 (Rosche) Perry. (KB 11:100) 12 on 5 June 2001 (Sherony) at Perinton. (LG, September 2001)
Note: 38 in June 1993 (Symonds) at Hamlin was an excellent tally. (KB43: 317) The question is the date. The Kingbird says 28 June; the Little Gull says 1 June. (LG June/July 1993)Note: One on 9 July 1977 (N. Henderson) at Manitou fell between dates identified as record late for spring or record early for fall. (GOS, September 1977)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 19 July to 6 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 14 August to 1 September. In most years had departed by 13 November, with a late departure date of 5 December 1975 when one was still at Braddock Bay. (KB26: 102)
Fall maxima: 20 on 30 August 1958 (Listman, O’Hara, Starling) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 175 on 9 September 2004 (D. Tetlow) west lakeshore (Greece, Parma +) in the wake of Hurricane Frances. (GOS, December 2004) 484 on 10 September 2004 (D. Tetlow) west lakeshore (Martin Road and farther west) in the wake of Hurricane Frances. (GOS, December 2004) 20+ on 21-22 September 1987 (mob) Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, November 1987) 25-27 on 21-23 October 1989 (mob) south end Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, December 1989)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Calidris subruficollis (formerly Tryngites subruficollis)
Gerhard Leubner’s spirits dropped as he approached the southern half of the Shore Acres pond on 27 August 1950. The mud flat that only two weeks before had been such an excellent spot for shorebirds “had nearly dried completely and weeds had grown up over most of it. There appeared to be nothing but a few Killdeer, which flew off. Soon five smaller shorebirds also took off … but they soon landed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this group consisted of four Baird’s Sandpipers and what I almost immediately took to be a Buff-breasted Sandpiper.” (GOS, September/December 1950) This was apparently the first Monroe County sighting of this mid-continent migrant since 1886, Edson reported. (WBR, 4 September 1950; Eaton I: 335) Two Buffalo birders soon drove up on the new parkway to share Leubner’s discovery. “The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is known to frequent prairies and dry fields in preference to shores. How ideal a location the dried pond was!” Leubner observed. “Most of us probably have felt that the new parkway would ruin one of our best shorebird areas, but last summer’s construction produced an excellent habitat for this bird and one that proved ideal for many other shorebirds.”
Background
In North America, this shorebird “breeds sporadically” along arctic coasts from central Alaska to Devon Island, Canada, and winters on the pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. This is the only North American shorebird that exhibits true lek behavior, in which males defend small territories where multiple females come to mate, then leave to nest and raise their chicks elsewhere. Spring migration follows a “narrow corridor” (94-100 degrees west) through the prairie states and provinces, but in fall birds move south over a wider corridor, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Small numbers move east before flying south along the west side of Hudson Bay, across the Great lakes and through the New England states, accounting for its regular appearances here, albeit in small numbers. Once numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions, this species suffered severe losses to commercial hunting and was near extinction in the early 1920s. “The extreme tameness of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and its tendency to return to a wounded flock member made these birds especially vulnerable to hunting,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Now, no more than a “few tens of thousands” remain in North America. Recent surveys suggest this species is still declining. (BNA 91: 1, 3, 14)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a rare migrant in Monroe county, citing the one record at Brockport in 1886, and two others in Kendall, Orleans County, on the unusual spring dates of 20 April 1884-1885. One at Gaines in fall 1897 may have been just outside our region. (Eaton I: 335, county charts)Perhaps by watching for this species in fields, dried mud flats, airports or golf courses “we may find it again before another 53 years elapse between records,” Leubner suggested after his 1950 sighting.In fact, it took only three more years before Harry Van Beurden found another at Shore Acres on 12-13 September 1953. (GOS, September/October 1953) Another four years passed before the next sightings (KB 7:120), prompting Edson to observe that this was “one of the rarest sandpipers.” (WBR, 9 September 1957) After what appear to have been annual sightings from 1957 through 1960 (Note: Edson listed a 12 September 1958 sighting not mentioned in the Kingbird -- WBR, 28 September 1959), another lapse of about six years occurred. So even in 1964, Alfred Starling reported it was being seen only “about every five years.” (WBR, 21 September 1964)
Status        Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, uncommon fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual, very rare fall transient.
Occurrence
      Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 27 August to 18 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 31 August to 11 September. Subsequently, one on 29 July 2004 (F. Merrill, C. Cass, Kimball) at Geneseo set a state record early arrival date. (LG, September 2004) Another on 25 July 2007 (D. Tetlow) at Hamlin was even earlier. (LG, September 2007)In most years had departed by 18 September, with a late departure date of 1 November 1981 when Mike Davids and Walt Listman found one in a wet plowed field along Priem Road south of Hamlin Beach SP. (BA, 5 November 1981; GOS, January 1982)This shorebird remains almost exclusively a fall migrant here, usually juvenile birds. Since 1975, Region 2 Kingbird reports list sightings every fall except four – 1990, 1993 and 1996-1997, though in many years only a single bird was found. The majority are seen in late August and September. Birders find these birds almost annually by searching disked or short-grass fields, especially between Braddock Bay and Point Breeze. Fields surrounding the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Center Road in Orleans County were particularly productive. Late in the afternoon of 3 September 1977, the “one overgrown bean field” on the south side of Lakeshore was plowed up “and by the next morning, the magnetic qualities of freshly overturned black dirt had attracted a fantastic aggregation of upland shorebirds,” Chip Perrigo reported. (LG, October 1977) Among them: two Buff-breasteds, which increased to four by the 5th and 6th. (LG, October 1977)Alas, the following year “perhaps the greatest disappointment of the season concerns the ‘buff-breast’ fields in Kendall where each year we await the churning plows and their respective rarities. But instead,” Perrigo reported, “the fields lay fallow through the prime shorebird season as their namesakes and Golden Plovers continue on towards the Argentinean pampas.” (LG, October 1978)In 1980 and 1981, however, as many as six to eight were seen along the west lakeshore in September. (KB31: 26; 32: 40) They included as many as five in a single field off Priem Road near Moscow Road as it was being cultivated. (BA, 4 September 1980)And late summer/fall 2004 was a banner season for this species, with nine reported from Cuylerville on 20 September (KB 55: 51), 3-5 along the West Lakeshore in August, seven more there in September, and four in October! (GOS, October and December 2004)Most sightings have been along the west lakeshore. However, one was in a plowed field behind the Schlegel Road school in Webster in September 1979. “This is the first of these rare sandpipers to be reported east of the city in recent years,” John Brown noted (BA, 19 September 1979), “possibly because the fields to the west receive better coverage. They could be found in similar fields anywhere in the area . . .”
Maxima:    5 on 31 August 1980 (mob) Hamlin. (GOS, October 1980)    Max. 6 from 1-13 September 1981 (mob) Hamlin to Kendall. (KB 32:40)    8 on 8 September 1980 (N. Henderson) Hamlin. (GOS, November 1980)    9 on 20 September 2004 (Kimball) Cuylerville. (KB 55:51)
Spring: Our only spring appearance was one 13 May 1981 at Carlton Station, observed by Bill Symonds, Walt Listman and Mike Davids. (LG, June 1981)

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos
“As I drove past a large meadow, several small birds circled over the field and then dropped out of sight in the tangled grasses. I focused the binoculars on the spot where they landed and was amazed to find the meadow covered with pectoral sandpipers,” Frank Dobson wrote after a tour of the west lakeshore in April 1986. Unlike shorebirds on a beach, relatively easy to see sticking out on the sand, these birds blended in with the brownish vegetation, and were next to invisible to the unaided eye. In another field, about 150 pectorals were gathered “in and around a flock of several hundred Canada Geese. It’s a wonder the sandpipers didn’t get trampled by the geese.” Whenever one of the Canadas would chase a pectoral out of the way, “the smaller birds scooted quickly, but never gave up on the feeding ground.” (Birds, 13 April 1986)And to think these birds were once almost unknown here in spring.
Background
On their breeding grounds, stretching across far northern Russia and Siberia, western and northern Alaska and far northern Canada, males expand and contract an inflatable throat sac during their display flights, producing hollow hoots that are among the most unusual sounds of the Arctic coastal tundra. In fall, most individuals breeding in Siberia migrate east to Alaska or Canada, then south to wintering grounds in South America. North American adults pass through central U.S., while juveniles disperse more widely to both East and West coasts. Spring migration is more concentrated, mostly west of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies. On breeding grounds, males court any females that enter their territories; females often nest elsewhere and males usually depart the breeding habitat before eggs hatch. Once considered the most abundant of all sandpipers “in the days before the prairies of Louisiana were changed from cattle ranges to farms,” occurring in enormous flocks and killed in great numbers by market hunters. Unfortunately, there is little information on recent population trends. (BNA 348: 1-2, 5-6, 12-13, 17)
Local history
“It is more often found in meadows and flats with scattered cover than our other sandpipers, much resembling the Wilson snipe in this respect,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He listed this as a common migrant in Monroe County, fairly common in Wayne and also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: 310, county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only a single spring record: one bird on 23 May 1935. He indicated average fall counts of two to three birds, with a maximum count of 50, on dates ranging from 10 July to 24 October. “As a rule,” seen here only in fall “and then in considerable numbers,” Edson reported in 1952. (WBR, 7 April 1952) He had to search back five years for the last spring sighting – 13 on flooded meadows on Brook Road in Chili 29 March 1947. Indeed, when Leo Tanghe tallied up sightings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-mile radius of Rochester for the years 1951-1954, he could find only 21 sightings in spring, generally averaging 1-2 birds, compared to 187 sightings for July through November, with average counts of 10 to 20 birds in early September. (KB5:3A-3B).-Both would no doubt be impressed by the 203 that were tallied on 13 April 1968 (Kemnitzer, Listman) along the west lakeshore. (GNR) If anything, bigger tallies now occur in spring rather than fall.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to very common spring transient and a regular, common fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular fairly common) spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 19 March (1960) to 19 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 29 March to 16 April. Subsequently, two on 27 February 2000 (D. Tetlow, Niven) at Manitou were record early. (KB 50: 161; LG, May 2000) In most years had departed by 23 May, with a late departure date of 5 June 1954 when one was seen at Salmon Creek by Listman and Van Beurden. (GOS, May/August 1954)
Spring maxima: 500+, 300+ and 305 on 4, 7, and 19 April 1981, along the west lakeshore (Kemnitzer), at Lima (J. and A. Foster) and at Fairport (D. Tetlow). (LG, May 1981) 300 on 2 May 1982 (Symonds) at Bergen. (LG, June 1982) 1,000 on 11 April 1986 (Nicoletti et al) at Braddock Bay. (LG, May 1986)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 18 June (1955) to 15 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 16 to 31 July. In most years had departed by 7 November, with a late departure date of 7 December (1956), when Listman observed one at Manitou.
Fall maxima: 105 on 7 August 1992 (C. Cass, Symonds) at Hamlin. (GOS, October 1992) 175 on 9 August 1994 (D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay– considered a good count for so early in the season. (KB44: 303) Approx. 100 on 2 October 1959 (Listman) near Shore Acres. (KB 9: 161)

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla
These, our most common migrant shorebirds, “are as gregarious as dunlins, and great clouds of peeps are often seen executing their aerial maneuvers over the shores and marshes,” Eaton (1910) wrote. Like the Dunlins, they “keep up a continuous peeping chatter of good fellowship as they run nimbly about the beach” searching for food. (Eaton I: 318) For as long as observers have been keeping track, these peeps have been a familiar part of both the spring and fall migration in our region.
Background
Breeding in sub-Arctic tundra from northeastern Siberia, across northern Alaska and Canada, these abundant sandpipers gather in flocks of up to 300,000 in key migration staging areas and on wintering grounds. In spring, large numbers gather at Delaware Bay; Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas; and Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan. In fall, anywhere from 40 to 74 percent of the total population stages along the Bay of Fundy before departing on nonstop trans-oceanic flights of 3,000-4,000 km to reach South America. Aerial surveys suggest as many as 2 million winter in South America. No apparent declines detected in migrating populations in recent years. However, preservation of key staging areas is a priority for this and other shorebird species. (BNA 6: 1-3, 14)
Local history
Eaton (1910) considered this a common migrant in Monroe and Wayne counties, also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to four birds, with a maximum count of 10, on dates ranging from 7 May to 4 June. He reported average fall counts of one to 15 birds, with a maximum count of 50, on dates ranging from 12 July to 25 October.“The semi-palmated sandpiper . . . is in no danger of extinction for the present, as it, together with the least sandpiper with which it often associates, are about the most common of our migratory shore birds,” Edson and Horsey reported in 1931. (“Arctic Birds Pay City Summer Visit on Early Passage South,” D&C, 10 August 1931)When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, this was the “peep” most frequently reported. Of 274 sightings, 53 were in spring, the rest were southbound. Average counts of 20-30 were reported for both seasons. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)These migrants be found on beaches, mudflats, and flooded fields. As with other shorebirds, “spring” migration often spills over into early summer, and “fall” migrants can appear as early as late June.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common to abundant spring transient and a regular, common fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably irregular) fairly common spring transient and a (presumably irregular) fairly common to common fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 18 April to 31 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 5 to 17 May. However, one on 17 April 1977 (M. Tetlow) Perinton was earlier. (LG, May 1977)In most years had departed by 10 June, with a late departure date of 20 June, apparently referring to six seen on the lakeshore on that date in 1953. (GOS, September/October 1953) However, one on 28 June 1954 (Van Beurden) at Ling Road was listed as the last report of the spring migration season that year. (GOS, May-August 1954)Some of the largest flights are in spring.
Spring maxima: 385 on 24 May 1995 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, June/July 1995) 2,000+ on 26 May 1983 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, June 1983) 610 on 26 May 2002 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, Summer 2002) 440 on 28 May 2004 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, July/August 2004) 350 on 27 May 1977 (M. Carlson, mob) at Long Pond. (LG, June 1977) 1,000 on 1 June 1961 (Listman) migrating past Braddock Bay. (KB11: 157) 428 on 1 June 1994 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (GOS, September 1994) 385 on 3 June 1999 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (GNR) 275 on 15 June 1961 (Haller) near Avon was a high number for such a late date. (Fox, p. 48) Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 28 June to 19 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 9 to 26 July. In most years had departed by 25 October, with a late departure date of 7 December 1956 when Listman found one at Manitou. (GNR)
Fall maxima: 75 in late August 1981 (mob) at Hemlock Lake. (Fox, p. 48) 170 on 9 September 2004 (D. Tetlow) along the west lakeshore after Hurricane Frances. (LG, December 2004) 75 on 11 September 2004 (Kimball) at Geneseo. (LG, December 2004)

Western Sandpiper

Calidris mauri
It’s a good thing sandpipers tend to congregate on open beaches, where they are easy to study at one’s leisure through a telescope. Even then, this species can be hard to pick out among the very similar Semipalmated Sandpipers that are far more commonly observed here. “Identification problems make it difficult to determine the percentage of this species present with any degree of accuracy at present,” noted the Goshawk’s monthly summary for May 1957. “A little careful collecting would settle this thorny issue,” one Kingbird editor suggested that same year. (KB 7:91) Fortunately for these shorebirds, there are less drastic ways of identifying them. During most seasons of their occurrence “there are plumage characters that can be diagnostic for identification,” Kenn Kaufman has written. “But these characters must be applied with caution, and with an appreciation for the way that these small sandpipers rapidly change in appearance during the year.” (Kaufman, p. 82)A veteran birder who had “studied hundreds of flocks of semi-palmated sandpipers” in search of the Western, pointed one out to John Brown in August 1954. It was in a shallow pool behind an old breakwater leading out to the west spit of Braddock Bay, in with a couple of Semipalmateds for easy comparison. The key points that clinched the identification, Brown noted, were “the heavier, longer bill with a slight downward curvature at the tip . . . a faint reddish tinge to the scapular feathers and the call note was higher and thinner.” (BA, 19 August 1954)All of which sounds like this might very well have been a Western though 1) some female Semipalmateds in the east actually have a longer bill than some male Westerns and 2) that “faint reddish tinge” in the scapulars might also be found in a juvenile Semipalmated and 3) Semipalmateds do have a lower-pitched chert, but can also give a “sharp, thin cheet similar to Western.” (Kaufman, pp. 82-86; Sibley, pp. 186-187)
Background
This shorebird has one of the most restricted breeding ranges of any of our North American sandpipers, nesting primarily in western Alaska and the eastern tip of Siberia. And yet, as many as 6,500,000 individuals – nearly the entire population – pass through the Copper River Delta in Alaska each spring, and wintering birds can be found on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, from Washington and New Jersey, respectively, south through Central into South America. Primary route of spring migration is the Pacific Coast. Far more birds pass through the interior of the U.S., such as Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas, in fall than spring. It is suspected that interior migrants are from breeding populations on Alaska’s North Slope. Some migrate along the Atlantic Coast in fall as well. The main preservation priority for this species is protecting stopover sites and wintering areas. (BNA: 90: 1, 3, 4, 14)      Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as an uncommon transient visitor in Monroe County, but also added that “I have never secured a specimen in western New York.” He gave no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne counties. (Eaton I:319, county charts) Edson believed that one of these western shorebirds at Rock Beach with a group of Least and Spotted sandpipers on 16 July 1934 was the first record for Monroe County. (WBR 23 July 1934; WBR, 7 January 1935) It was the only record reported by Horsey in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936. Three separate sightings in August 1954 were considered “very unusual.” (GOS, May/August 1954) Indeed, when Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported only six times. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)Reported annually from 1954 through 1961, 1965 through 1969, and from 1974 until 2002. There were none reported in 2005 and 2006. (LG, February 2006, 2007)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, rare spring transient and a regular, uncommon fall transient.    Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 27 April (1968) to 27 May, departing 18 May to 13 June (1965).
Spring maxima:        10 on 19, 21 May 1992 (Listman) at Hamlin. (LG, June/July 1992)       35 on 26 May 1989 (Listman) at Point Breeze. (LG, June 1989; listed as 25 total in KB 39:173)       60 on 27 May 1977 (M. Carlson, mob) at Northrup Creek was exceptional for both total and timing. (KB 27:152)       15 on 12 June 1979 (Listman) west lakeshore. (LG, July 1979)      Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 15 June (1968) to 11 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 26 July to 22 August. In most years had departed by 3 October, with a late departure date of 11 November, achieved in three years: One at Salmon Creek (Kemnitzer et al) in 1959 (KB 9:162), two at Braddock Bay (Griffith) in 1991 (KB 42:31; GOS, January 1992) and another there (Griffith) in 1993. (KB 44:41; GOS, January 1994)Seldom found away from Lake Ontario: one 4-5 September 1999 (D. Tetlow, Davids, Fox) at Lake LaGrange at Perry was the first Wyoming County record since 1959. (LG, November 1999)
Fall maxima:     10+ on 17 June 1958 (Listman) at Manitou. (KB8:80)     Max 5 during 6-28 August 1976 (mob) at Braddock Bay. (GNR)     5 on 4 November 1975 (Lloyd, Sunderlin) at Northrup Creek. (GOS, January 1976)

Short-billed Dowitcher

(formerly Dowitcher)Limnodromus griseus
Just as dawn broke on 18 May 1980, five birders – out for their annual “Big Day” count – stood soaked, miserable and freezing in the rain at Braddock Bay’s east spit. Little did they know they were about to witness “one of the greatest migration flights of shorebirds in many years.”“First they heard the cry of a lone whimbrel they couldn’t see,” John Brown reported. “Then, as it grew lighter, they noted others flying and made out the shapes of three or four hundred dowitchers feeding along the water’s edge.” (BA, 22 May 1980) Talk about a “Big Day.” More than 1,000 Short-billed Dowitchers were along the west lakeshore that day, when “the combination of a warm day and SW winds to 11 p.m. on the 17th followed by rain until dawn and switching east to SE winds all day resulted in the best shorebird flight in recent memory.” (KB 30:165-166)
Background
Not until 1950 did a researcher confirm an earlier thesis that there were, indeed, two species of New World dowitcher. Previous to that, the Short-billed Dowitcher was “one of the least understood shorebirds, largely because western populations were continually confused with the Long-billed,” notes The Birds of North America series. Short-billeds breed entirely in North America, principally in taiga muskegs, and “where the lichen woodlands of the northern part of the boreal forest are becoming interspersed with stretches of tundra.” Three major breeding areas have been identified: south-central Quebec/central Labrador to the Ontario coast of James and Hudson bays; northern Manitoba to western Alberta; and from the mountains of northwest British Columbia south along the Pacific coast and into coastal Alaska. Unlike Long-billed Dowitcher, this species is more likely to be found on coastal mud flats and saline habitats during migration. This species’ “confiding nature and tendency to fly over shot flock-mates made it easy prey” during the uncontrolled hunting of the late 1800s. This species rebounded with protection, but more recently there are indications that, at least on the East Coast, this species is perhaps only about half as common as several decades ago. The North American was population was estimated at 150,000 to 175,000 in 2001. (BNA 564: 1, 3, 7, 19-20)
Local history
“It is now much less common than it was 20 years ago, due mostly to spring shooting and reckless slaughter by the gunners, who often destroy entire flocks that have bunched among their decoys, without leaving a single pair to return to the breeding grounds,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He indicated that this species was an uncommon transient visitor in Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne. (Eaton I: 304, county charts)R.E. Horsey in his list of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm in fall, with a maximum count of two, on dates ranging from 12 August to 8 October. He appears to list only 24 May as a spring date, with a maximum count of two.“The dowitcher, as a rule, is decidedly a beach bird and is seldom seen far from ocean beaches, but two were found at Rock Beach on Sept. 9 feeding among sea-weed cast up by the recent storm,” Edson reported in 1934. (WBR, 17 September 1934) Two years later, he noted that sightings here were “few and far between” and “when here it is almost entirely confined to the lake shore and mud flats and similar areas around the bay and ponds close by.” (WBR, 24 August 1936) Indeed, for many years it was “practically unknown” along the lakes, but about 1941 “started to show up, one or two birds at a time in July or August,” Edson noted. (WBR, 16 July 1956)Ambrose Secker, for one, was not convinced that dowitchers were as scarce as these early observations would imply, “as the southern shore of Lake Ontario is on a line of the migration route of this species… one can assume that lack of observers is responsible for this opinion.” He related seeing a total of 17 individuals from 28 May to 25 September 1938 on the pond at Shore Acres and the adjacent lakeshore. (GOS, June/August 1950)Beardslee and Mitchell cite an “unusually high count” of 50 on 27 August 1949 (Nathan, Wright) at Braddock Bay. (B&M, p. 228)When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found “dowitcher” reported 90 times, with only four of the sightings in spring, and average counts of only 3-5. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)By 1956 they were seen every summer “in noticeable numbers,” Edson reported. (WBR, 16 July 1956) Thirty-five on 19 July 1959 (Listman) were at Braddock Bay (GNR), and another 93 the following month (Starling, mob) at Shore Acres. (KB9:161) When Al Starling and Howard Miller braved rain and wind on 20 August 1960 for a look at the west spit at Braddock Bay, the fabled birding spot did not disappoint. “The first thing they saw was flock of birds swinging out over the lake that . . . headed in for the spit in three separate groups of about 50 birds each,” John Brown reported. (BA, 25 August 1960) They were dowitchers. Combined with a small group already on the beach, there were an estimated 175 of them -- “by far the largest number reported here in this century,” Edson noted. (WBR, 29 August 1960; KB10: 180) Three appeared to be Long-billed, the rest Short-billed.      Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual rare spring transient and a casual uncommon fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 31 March (1968) to 23 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 8 to 17 May. In most years had departed by 29 May, with a late departure date of 1 June. Three individuals were seen in spring 1958, prompting Howard Miller to observe that “until about three years ago this bird was almost unheard of as a spring migrant in our area.” (KB8:47) However, unfavorable spring weather can ground large numbers of dowitchers, as it did that memorable Big Day in the rain. Almost all spring birds observed here are the L.g. hendersoni race. However, L.g. griseus, usually seen here only in fall, has been observed in spring on at least three occasions by Domonic Sherony: One on 18 May 1999 (LG, July/August 1999); one from 25-30 May 2001 (KB 51:698); and one from 1-3 June 2003 (KB 53:347), all at Perinton.
Spring maxima:      100+ on 14 May 1997 (McKinney) Hamlin. (GOS, July/August 1997)     100+ on 15 May 1983 (Symonds) west lakeshore. (LG, June 1983)   1000+ on 18 May 1980 (S. Taylor, R. Clark, Perrigo, Symonds, M. Carlson) west lakeshore. (LG, June 1980)     140 and 62 on 19 May 1997 at Hamlin (C. Cass) and Charlotte (Marcotte). (GOS, July/August 1997)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 24 June to 20 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 11 to 31 July. In most years had departed by 27 October, with a late departure date of 19 December.
Fall maxima:      75 on 8 July 1978 (Listman et al) Point Breeze to Kendall. (LG, August 1978)       53 on 14 July 1975 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (LG, August 1975)    Max. 40 from 9-31 August 1952 various locations. (GOS, September/October 1952)      40 on 17 August 1967 (Miller, O’Hara) Ontario Beach. (GOS, October 1967)    175 on 20 August 1960 (Starling, et al) Manitou. (KB 10:180)      50 on 27 August 1949 (Nathan, Wright) Braddock Bay. (B&M, p. 228)      40 on 1 September 1957 (Listman) west lakeshore. (GNR)

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus
John Bull, that demanding icon of New York birding, preferred making a difficult identification in the hand (by shooting the bird) rather than through binoculars or a scope. He suggested it required “long years of study” and “favorable circumstances” to correctly separate this species from its close cousin, the Short-Billed Dowitcher. (Bull, p. 248) The two dowitcher species, for example, “are among the most difficult shorebirds to identify and this holds for identification in museum collections as well as in the field,” he contended. However, even Bull surely would have been satisfied with Kurt Fox’s account of the first Long-billed Dowitcher recorded for Livingston County.The juvenile bird, seen with several Greater Yellowlegs on temporary mudflats at Hemlock Lake on 13 October 1997, “had a gray-brown back, with each feather having a fine chestnut-rufous edge. The tertials and scapulars did not have any internal markings. The head and neck were ‘bullish’ in proportion and grayish, which contrasted with the warmer upper breast. The breast was unspotted, but the flanks were barred. The uppertail was noted as having fine white lines alternating with large black bars. In flight, the bird had a large white back patch.” And to really help clinch the identification, “its call, heard several times in fight, was described as a single-noted ‘keek’ ” – not the more liquid “kewtutu” of the Short-billed.
Background
This chunky shorebird is distinguished by its long bill, which can extend twice the length of its head, by its “sewing machine” motion while feeding, by its distinctive “keek” call while flying and feeding, and by its late migration compared to most other shorebirds, notes the profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. It breeds in wet, grassy meadows of tundra regions from northeastern Russia to northwestern Canada, and migrates mainly west of the Mississippi River, wintering primarily along the Pacific and Gulf coasts into Mexico. Overhunted in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it numbers are now believed to be stable, but vulnerable to loss of wetlands in western states. DNA evidence indicates Long-billed and Short-billed dowitchers diverged as separate species as long as 4 million years ago. Long-billed migrates later in fall and earlier in spring than Short-billed. It is rare as a spring migrant in eastern North America, where it is more likely seen in fall, though still in small numbers. Population estimated to be more than 500,000, with increasing numbers of wintering birds in Florida and expansion of breeding range in Siberia. (BNA 493: 1, 2, 5-6, 13)
Local history
“The status of the long-billed dowitcher in the East is really an unknown quantity,” Starling observed as recently as 1963. For years many authorities had considered it impossible to separate it from short-billed dowitcher in the field. “Confusion exists even as to whether the long-billed is a true specie.” (WBR, 21 October 1963)Edson listed it occurring in 1941 and 1949, and then four straight years from 1957-60, all in the fall, Starling added. One on 1 September 1957 (Miller, Rising) at the west spit of Braddock Bay was identified when the observers “had an opportunity to compare the call notes of both dowitchers.” (KB 7:120; BA, 5 September 1957)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, very rare to rare fall transient, and a casual, very rare spring visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual very rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Of about 72 records from 1957 through 2006, nearly half were in October.

Spring: There appear to be at most only a half dozen occurrences. The Monroe County annotated list indicated two spring records: 23 May 1970 and 14-24 May 1981, neither of which was reported in the KB or the noteworthy lists of the club newsletters. The AL also either overlooked or discarded one on 25 May 1976 (Perrigo) at Parma. (KB 26:159, LGNR) Since then there have been three other spring records: one on 13 May 1988 (R. and S. Spahn) at Perinton (KB 38:196), two on 5 May 2005 (Kimball) at Geneseo and one nine days later (M. Tetlow) at Perinton. (KB 55:271)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 5 July to 19 December. Most occurrences are in September and October. As Chip Perrigo noted, “We don’t usually expect them until the waning days of the shorebird season when leaves are quickly turning and a frosty morning chill reminds us of the long season ahead.” (LG, September 1978) Our best flight was in fall 1987, when from one to two were at Irondequoit Bay in late September, 12 were at Savannah on 10 October, and 9 were at Salmon Creek on 8 October, with another one to two lingering there until 8 November. (KB 38:33, LGNR, GNR)Dominic Sherony’s analysis of twenty-three fall sightings here from 1978-1993 showed most were single birds within five miles of the Lake Ontario shoreline. They were found on mudflats caused by the annual drop in lake levels, or in ponds and marshes. They were usually in mixed groups of other shorebirds but almost never with Short-billed Dowitchers (KB 44:259-262), though Edson reported that three were in the flock of 175 short-billeds reported in 1960. (WBR, 29 August 1960) Maxima: 7 juveniles on 22 September 1999 (D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay. (LG, November 1999) 7 on 6 October 1975 (Perrigo) at Northrup Creek. (KB 26:37) 9 juv. on 8 October 1987 (S. Carlson) at Salmon Creek. (LGNR) 6 on 10 October 1976 (Perrigo) at Braddock Bay. (LG, November 1976) 12 juv. on 10 October 1987 (D. Tetlow) at Savannah. (KB 38:33)

American Woodcock

Scolopax minor
If you are in the vicinity of low, moist, wooded areas at dusk or later, you may hear the courtship song of the woodcock. If it be bright moonlight you may see the aerial demonstrations of the male … as he tries to show his lady-love what a wonderful fellow he is. The start is a call similar to the nighthawk’s cry. Then he spirals to an altitude so high he is nearly invisible. Then he drops like a plummet to the ground with such a velocity and apparent lack of control that the beholder is sure to fear a crack-up (is) imminent. Throughout the flight he sings his nuptial song. – William L. G. Edson “Weekly Bird Report,” D&C, 18 April 1938.More than 40 participants who turned out in the early evening of 8 April 2005 at the Owl Woods near Braddock Bay learned first hand what Edson wrote about nearly 70 years before. Braddock Bay Raptor Research and the state Department of Environmental Conservation had created clearings, leaving remnant corridors of dense brush and trees, producing several areas conducive to these birds. “As dusk approached we began to hear the familiar ‘peent’ of the male woodcock as he began his evening ritual,” Kevin Griffith, the field trip leader, related. “Song Sparrows were singing as if to compete with the woodcock for control of the airways.” By 8 p.m. at least six woodcock were calling. “At approximately 8:10 p.m. our first woodcock rose from the ground with its ‘twittering’ sound caused by the primaries. It rose over 50 feet into the air and provided the group with good observations of this speedy flight. It then gave the series of ‘chips’ that are associated with the descent. It landed and began its ‘peent’ call again.” For another half hour, the group was regaled with similar displays at close range. (LG, May 2005)Residents of a new residential tract just north of West Ridge Road in Greece needed only to look out their windows in the spring of 1987. “Eight or 10 woodcocks were very active on that warm, still evening,” Frank Dobson reported. “Their antics were nicely visible against the afterglow of sunset. Cocks buzzed the rooftops and zipped between the houses and generally just had a good time twittering and peenting in all directions.” (Birds, 19 April 1987)Generally these flights are more likely to be observed on calm, clear evenings; however, one was performing its flight in Greece in light to moderate winds and falling snow on 19 March 2006. (Personal observation)
Background
This “forest-dwelling shorebird” is uniquely adapted for its habitat, with a long bill specialized for feeding on earthworms and its plumage mottled with “leaf-brown patterns that blend superbly with the forest floor,” note Keppie and Whiting in their profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. The twittering noise during its legendary courtship flights is mechanical, caused by air passing between the narrowed three outer primaries. These birds do not form pair bonds, and the male gives no parental care. The breeding range is confined to the eastern half of the United States, extending into southern Canada. Young forest and abandoned farmland mixed with forest are considered ideal habitat. Natural succession may be contributing to its recent declines in eastern U.S., as abandoned farmland progresses beyond young forest, but it has also apparently extended its range northward as boreal forests are increasingly opened up by extensive harvesting. Even today about 2 million are shot annually. (BNA 100: 1, 2, 4, 9, 11)
Local history
“The present-day observer can scarcely credit the former abundance of this species when hundreds were shot by hunters in a single day during the height of the fall flight in late October and November,” John Bull (1974) observed. In the early 1870s, the open season started early in summer and continued until late winter, Bull noted. “Because of such hunting practices decade after decade, it is no wonder that a great decrease had occurred by the early 1900s.” (Bull, p. 239)Severely depleted by hunting and habitat loss by the early 1900s, they have never fully rebounded. (Andrle, p. 162) Eaton (1910) listed this as a fairly common summer resident in Livingston and Wayne counties, but uncommon in Monroe, where it was fairly common only in migration. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated sightings of single birds were the norm, with a maximum count of only 5, on dates ranging from 3 April to 11 October.This was the “most interesting bird recorded” for the week ending 22 August 1930, Edson reported. “This individual is possible a migrant, although not so many years ago it was not an uncommon nesting bird in this vicinity.” (“Wise Old Woodcock Knows Where the Fish Bait Goes, D&C, 25 August 1930)When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 129 times, with 31 of the records coming in the middle part of May – no doubt due to courtship flights. Spring also brought the best average counts of 3-5. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)“The number of flight (migratory) birds is still considerably fewer than fifty years ago,” Ambrose Secker wrote in 1950. (GOS, June/Aug 1950) He knew of only two definite breeding records in recent years: in the state woods south of Elmwood Avenue in 1946 and at Summerville in 1947. “Undoubtedly there are other territories where this bird breeds.” One such area, he speculated, was in Orleans County just west of the Monroe County line, between Ridge Road and the Roosevelt Highway. It was an area of once profitable farmland that had gradually been abandoned and had reverted to second growth oak and other small timber. Though nests had not been found, woodcock could be found there in both spring and fall.Tanghe in 1953 listed this as an uncommon breeder in our area, specifically citing Bergen Swamp and Summerville as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to common summer resident and a casual, very rare winter visitant. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 26 February (1976) to 19 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 15 March to 3 April. One on 23 February 1984 (Sherony) at Victor was earlier and “most likely a migrant.” (KB 34:112; LG, March 1984) The twittering dawn and dusk courtship flights herald the arrival of spring wherever these birds can find a suitable mix of woodlands and clearings. This bird confounds many beginning birders who wonder why they are hearing Common Nighthawk so early in the year! (BA, 21 April 1966). This observer made the same mistake when first hearing a Woodcock gives its peenting call.Alfred Starling reported that “not less than 30 or 40” were calling within a three-quarter-mile stretch of road in Hamlin Beach SP on the evening of 26 March 1963, John Brown reported. “Often, he said, there would be three or four flying and singing their courtship song and several others calling from the ground.” (BA, 28 March 1963) Spring maxima: 31 on 26 March 1963 (Starling) at Hamlin Beach SP. (GOS, May 1963) 20 on 30 March 1963 (O’Hara et al) “in a swampy hedgerow” west of Braddock Bay. (KB 13:106) 25 on 7 April 1954 (R. Dobson, D. Miller) at Ling Road. (GOS, March-April 1954) 26 on 15 May 1977 (F. and R. Dobson) Center Road, Murray. (GNR)
Summer/breeding status: These are among our early nesters. For example, two nests with eggs were found in the Braddock Bay area in mid April 1980. (BA, 17 April 1980) Even earlier was a nest with two eggs there on 31 March 1978. (LG, April 1978) During the first BBA, our region had one of the heaviest concentrations of blocks with evidence of breeding, especially on the lake plain. However, during the second project there were many more blocks to the west and southwest of Rochester with no evidence of breeding reported. How much of this decrease was due to observer effort, how much to other factors is unclear.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 15 September to 17 November, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 1 to 21 October.John Brown reported that a flight of 221 on 24 September 1961 was observed at Braddock Bay (BA, 28 September 1961), but it is not mentioned in the Kingbird, and the Goshawk did not publish.
Winter: Very rarely a straggler remains in winter. Dave Tetlow has found this species three times in January in recent years: One was at Hilton 10 January 1995 (GOS, March 1995), two at Bergen Swamp 26 January 2002 (GOS, February 2002) and two there again on 12 January 2006. (LG March 2006) Misc.
This bird startles many observers by exploding into flight at the last minute, when almost underfoot. Often that is the only time we see these birds in daylight – flying away in a blur of wings. However, occasionally they wander out in the open. One birder was treated to a close-up look at one in broad daylight on 23 June 1990, as it fed next to standing water along the railroad tracks at the north end of Badgerow Park. Even when approached within about 30 yards, the “Woodcock continues to preen itself, then probe the mud. It does so very deliberately, leaving the bill plunged in to its full length for a moment before drawing it out, almost as if it were using the bill as a sounding or sensing device.“When moving about, its whole body bobs slightly. . .” (Marcotte diary entry)Mrs. W. E. Burroughs of Huffer Road, Hilton, reported in August 1971 that four woodcock – perhaps a family group – had shown up on her lawn. “They’ve been spending a large part of every day there, feeding on earthworms, their favorite food, or whatever else they may be finding,” John Brown reported. (BA, 19 August 1971) It happened again during an unusually hot, dry summer in 1973. Three Woodcock appeared regularly at the edge of the well-watered yard in August. “They appear every evening and spend considerable time there, probing for earthworms brought near the surface by the moisture supply.” (BA, 16 August 1973) Participants on an RBA field trip on 20 October 1990 were treated to the sight of one feeding in a grassy area in front of a park shelter. However, they were concerned that the bird might be ill, Diane Henderson noted, given the habitat and time of day, and because it was “moving strangely,” though otherwise it seemed perfectly healthy. Consulting a guide to shorebirds afterwards, she read that “ ‘when feeding, (this species) has a slow walk with a constant rocking motion of the body.’ I thought this would be of interest to the others on this field trip. We can most likely rest assured that this was a healthy bird who was a little mixed up.” (LG, November 1990)Bob and Margaret McKinney had an interesting experience one spring when they found themselves within 20 feet of a woodcock that had apparently decided a grey rock twice its size was something altogether different. “He backed away and looked sternly at this unwelcome and unwanted interloper,” Margaret wrote. “He drew himself up and carefully fanned his tail feathers to their fullest. He took two steps forward, his eyes fixed upon the enemy. Suddenly he sprang two feet straight up into the air and landed in the same spot in front of his silent foe. Again and again he repeated the performance. “The rock showed no interest in contesting such a heroic claim to the woodland edge that they both occupied. As dusk crept in the Woodcock strutted away victorious. We feel very fortunate to have shared such an intimate moment with one of God’s creatures.” (GOS, May 1978)

Wilson’s Snipe

(formerly Common Snipe)Gallinago delicata
“In April and early May when snipe are nesting, their curious aerial performance is one of the most interesting sounds of the marsh lands. It is usually heard in the evening or on cloudy days,” Eaton (1910) observed. “The bird mounts high in the air, often five or six hundred feet, and circles around the swamp, occasionally sweeping obliquely downward with a quivering motion of the wings, producing a weird tremulous crescendo whistle, resembling somewhat the distant or muffled bleating of a kid, or the sound of an old fashioned fan-mill, whence the notes have been known as the ‘bleating’ or ‘winnowing’ of the Snipe.” When in danger, he added, the Snipe “crouches so motionless that it is impossible to distinguish him among the grasses, and when too closely pressed springs suddenly into the air with a sharp grating call and makes rapidly off in a ‘rail-fence’ course not far above the ground until well out of danger, when he mounts high in the air and circles about for a few minutes finally to pitch headlong into the swamp again, perhaps into the same position from which he was driven.” (Eaton, I: 302)
Background
This species is at the southern end of its breeding range here. Those breeding grounds extend from Alaska across almost all of Canada and the northern United States, and also in Eurasia, where it nests along sedge bogs, fens, swamps and marshy edges of ponds, rivers and brooks. The eyes are set well back on the head, providing full vision to the side and binocular vision to the rear, enabling it to spot predators while its beak is fully buried in substrate. Given its furtive habits and habitat, actual populations and trends are difficult to determine; in any event, North American population is, at least, in the “low millions” and likely even higher. Not considered endangered or threatened. (BNA 417: 1, 5, 13-14)
Local history
Like many other shorebird species, this one was severely depleted due to hunting by the early 1900s. Eaton (1910) listed it as only an occasional summer resident in Monroe and Wayne counties, but common in those counties and uncommon in Livingston during migration. He also mentioned finding it breeding in Bergen swamp. (Eaton I: county charts, 301)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to six birds, with a maximum count of only nine, on dates ranging from 24 March to 11 November. In 1946 Edson was still waiting for it to become re-established as a regular breeder in Monroe County. (WBR, 5 August 1946) Added Ambrose Secker in 1950: “Recent years have failed to produce any quantity of breeding birds, even though the area has many suitable breeding spots and the number of observers has steadily increased through the years.” Records of migrants, however, had shown a “definite but slow increase.” (GOS, June/August 1950)That appeared to be confirmed when Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954. He found this species reported 285 times – the fourth most frequently encountered shorebird – with more than half the records occurring the last half of August through October. Best average counts were 5-7. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)In 1953, Tanghe listed this as a rare breeder in our area, mentioning only Bergen Swamp as a nesting location. (GOS, May/August 1953) Three years later, an evening owl trip to the swamp in April “produced no owls, but only the Wilson’s Snipe in courtship flight.” (KB6: 54)By the late 1950s, birders were finding evidence of breeding in other locations. Allen Kemnitzer, for example, heard snipe “singing their spring courtship song in Ling Road marsh” in April 1959. (BA, 16 April 1959)In June 1964 Walt Listman investigated the “potholes south of the Lake Ontario State Parkway near Salmon Creek” during a period of low water levels. According to John Brown, Listman “first saw five snipe probing the soft mud along the edge of a pothole, seeking food with their long bills. Then he noted five more, and while he watched seven more flew in.”Given that these birds were still considered “a most uncommon summer species in the lakeshore marshes,” this was a “rare June spectacle in this region.”The birds “seemed to be divided into groups that may have been families . . . considering the date and the number of birds . . . a plausible conclusion is that many of them were this year’s young, locally hatched and raised.” (BA, 2 July 1964)More recently, however, there are indications this species is declining in breeding numbers here. (See Breeding status below.) Best seen in migration when small flocks are in wet fields or on mudflats.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common spring transient; a regular, uncommon summer resident; a regular, common fall transient and a regular, rare winter visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an occasional rare winter visitant, a (presumably regular) fairly common spring transient, a regular uncommon summer resident and a (presumably regular fairly common) fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 1 March to 12 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 20 March to 5 April. Subsequently, four on 17 February 1985 (Garnham) at Hemlock Lake were earlier. (GOS, April 1985)In most years had departed by 27 May, with a late departure date of 2 June.Spring migrants can regularly be found along wet spots in fields along the west lakeshore.
Spring maxima: 499 on 8 April 2007 (D. Tetlow) Parma to Carlton. (LG, June 2007) 103 on 10 April 1999 (D. and K. Tetlow) along the west lakeshore. (LG, June 1999) 82 on 19 April 1997 (R. and C. Spahn) at Hamlin. (GOS, June 1997) 80 on 27 April 1990 (R. Spahn et al) at Hamlin. (GOS, June 1990)
Summer/breeding status: During the first BBA project, our region had one of the highest concentrations of blocks with evidence of breeding, especially in eastern Monroe/western Wayne, and in western Monroe into Orleans and Genesee counties from the lakeshore south. That changed dramatically during the second project, when evidence of breeding was found in only scattered blocks in those areas, and in fewer than half as many blocks overall. This seems to confirm observations that this species’ breeding

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 28 June (1964) to 18 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 15 July to 2 August. In most years had departed by 13 November, with a late departure date of 12 December.
Fall maxima: 14 on 9 August 1958 (O’Hara, Miller) Ling Road marsh. (KB 8:80) 20 on 28 June 1964 (Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, September 1964) 30 on 17 July 1959 (Listman) west spit Braddock Bay. (GNR) 50 on 18 September 1977 (F. and R. Dobson) at Greece. (GOS, November 1977) 60 on 28 September 1974 (T. and M. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 42 on 14 October 2005 Salmon Creek. (KB 56:69) 61 on 21 October 1988 (F. Dobson, O’Hara) at Salmon Creek. (GOS, December 1988) 30 on 25 November 1963 (Listman) at Braddock Bay reflecting the “mildness of the late fall” that year. (GOS, January 1964; KB14: 35) 14-17 on 6-10 December 1982 at Irondequoit Bay. (KB 33:118)
Winter: It is not unusual for snipe to linger into winter. In fact, Region 2 Kingbird reports mention January or early February sightings of this species more years than not – in 17 of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. Even during one of the bitterest, snowiest winters on record, 1977-1978, one survived at a small spring-fed marsh in Honeoye Falls – alongside a Killdeer and American Pipit. (LG, March 1978) When it managed to hang on even through March, it was believed to be the “first definite record for a successful overwintering of an individual Common Snipe in the Rochester area.” (LG, April 1978)
Winter maxima: 13 on 20 December 1998 (S., C. and R. Spahn) at Braddock Bay (GOS, February 1999), setting the record tally for a Rochester CBC. 3 on 1 January 2000 (D. Tetlow et al) at Conesus Lake. (LG, March 2000) 4 on 4 January 1999 (D. Tetlow, Davids, Voss) at Conesus Inlet. (LG, March 1999) 3 on 9 January 1971 (Listman) at Greece. (GNR) 4 on 17 February 1985 (Garnham) Hemlock Lake. (GOS, April 1985)

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularia
“Long ago, when we were learning to swim in the deep places of the lower reaches of Oatka Creek,” John Brown recalled, “our arrival at the water’s edge would always be heralded by the ‘peet-weet’ of a departing Spotted sandpiper, flying upstream on its wing-tips, just above the surface of the stream.” (BA, 6 August 1964) Even after the proliferation of development along the stream’s watershed made those old swimming holes less attractive, the “adaptable little sandpipers” still came back, he added.This species nests in a variety of habitats so long as water is near. On 17 June 1958, Walt Listman came across two of these birds at Braddock Bay just out of the nest, still covered with downy feathers. “Scarcely two inches long and moving on stilt-like legs, they already had the teetering motion of their elders,” Brown reported. (BA, 19 June 1958) Norm Henderson had much the same experience when he saw a Spotted Sandpiper with four young on 8 July 1977 at the west spit of Braddock Bay. “They couldn’t have been very old, a matter of a few days, probably. All covered with down and, young as they were, when they stood there, their little rear ends were bobbing up and down like a typical Spotted Sandpiper. I am concerned for their welfare because a large immature gull was hanging around where they were. I hope they make it.” (LG, July 1977)These birds are still regular summer residents here, flying with shallow, fluttering wing beats alternating with a glide, “with the wings drooping below a horizontal line and both wings stroking in unison like the oars of a boat.” (Eaton I: 337) However, even their adaptability is apparently being tested, with indications of decline registered on the latest Breeding Bird Atlas.
Background
This is the most widespread breeding sandpiper in North America, nesting all across Canada and most of the United States, from the southern edge of the Arctic to the southern states. They have thrived by feeding “on a great variety of animal matter” and occupying “almost all habitats near water.” The teetering behavior and low flight, with shallow, stiff wingbeats, are characteristic. Unlike many shorebirds, this sandpiper migrates singly or in small flocks, to and from wintering grounds that extend from the southern states to southern South America. It is among a small minority of birds that have reversed sex roles, with females being more aggressive and active in courtship, and males taking the primary role as parents. Indeed, females arrive first and stake out territories, then attempt to attract males – and mate with as many a four per season, with each male caring for a separate clutch. One female in Minnesota laid five clutches for three males in 43 days. Local populations can fluctuate widely in response to predation on nests. (BNA 289: 1-2, 21)
Local history
“It is impossible for the Tip-up to stand or walk quietly, it keeps teetering or tilting its tail continually as it walks nimbly along the beach or stands on some stone, log, or fence post,” Eaton (1910) noted. “They nest commonly along every stream, pond and lake in the State” except where woods come to the water’s edge, he wrote. And indeed, he listed it as a common summer resident in Monroe, Wayne and Livingston counties. (Eaton I: 336, county charts)Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to four, with a maximum of 25, on dates ranging from 5 April to 19 October.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 402 times, more often than any shorebird except Killdeer. Most of the sightings were in May (160) and during August through the first half of September (117), with best average counts of 7-10 in late May. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 5 April to 12 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 22 to 30 April. Two at Irondequoit Bay outlet in 1997 (P. Spindler) tied the record early date. (GOS, June 1997) As a general rule these birds “don’t arrive in flocks,” Brown wrote. “They seem to move in singly or in pairs, suddenly appearing in late spring.” (BA, 19 June 1958) Nonetheless, large flocks are occasionally seen. Spring maxima: 300 on 19 May 1967 (Listman) were seen migrating at Braddock Bay – a “very high count.” (KB 17:157)
Summer/breeding status: During the first BBA project our region had a higher concentration of blocks with confirmed breeding than any other part of the state, especially west of the Genesee River. “The large number of ‘confirmed’ records in Orleans, Monroe and Genesee counties were of dependent fledged young seen in July during return visits to blocks . . .” Steven C. Sibley noted. (Andrle, p. 156)Results from the second BBA, however, show a startling turnaround. There were huge gaps without any evidence of breeding in those same areas of Orleans, Monroe and Genesee counties, and very few blocks with confirmed breeding.Some of this may be due to different levels of observer effort. Another possibility: increased suburban sprawl and a corresponding increase in stone rip-rap as a flood/erosion control measure along the streams this species inhabits.“One factor affecting the bird’s abundance is its ability to cope with human activities,” unlike Piping Plover, for example, Sibley notes. (Andrle, p. 156) One has to wonder, however, if human activities are now stressing even this species. Though still a widespread resident in our region, it bears watching.

Summer maxima: 50 on 17 June 1978 (J. and W. Listman, Perrigo) from Point Breeze to Kendall. (LG, July 1978) 30+ on 13 July 1997 (McKinney et al) along the Genesee River. (GOS, September 1997) 30 on 7-13 August 1988 (C. Cass) at Hemlock Lake. (Fox, p. 47)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 19 September to 3 November, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 1 to 12 October. Even later, but outside Monroe County, was one on 12 November 1951 (Listman) at Sodus Bay. (GOS, June/December 1951) Record late was an injured bird at Yanty Creek Marsh, Hamlin Beach SP (Symonds et al) from 1-23 November 1987. (LG, December 1987)

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria
Along with Spotted Sandpiper, this is the shorebird most likely to show up when you least expect to find one, when you are in a wooded area with streams, for example, looking for warblers and other passerines in May. One in Badgerow Park on 13 May 1989 was bobbing at frequent, regular intervals – head up, tail down; head up, tail down – as it probed in the shallow water of Slater Creek. “At one point it picks up something from the shore, and dips it twice in the water before gulping it down. It also preens itself, at one point dipping its feet in water, then bringing them up to wash off its bill and face.” It allowed a birder to approach within 35 feet before taking off with “a funny kind of flight, kind of fluttering and soaring combined.” (Marcotte, diary entry)Eaton (1910) commented on their unsuspicious nature, “rarely taking wing unless very closely approached . . . When alighting they have the habit, even more than other members of this family, of holding their long wings stretched upward almost vertically, displaying the striking pattern of the wing markings and slowly folding them as their poise is gained and the search for food resumed.” (Eaton I: 328)
Background
This graceful bird nests in muskeg bogs of the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada and winters in Central and South America. Not much is known of its habits and movements because of its remote breeding habitat and tendency to remain alone or in small flocks. “Unlike virtually all other shorebirds, Solitary Sandpiper is a bird of forested ponds and lakes, often at high elevation,” William Moskoff notes in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America series; during migration it can be found along polluted city streams or puddles of liquid manure on farms – “places not usually frequented by other shorebirds.” One of only two scolopacid species to lay eggs in tree nests instead of on the ground, using abandoned nests of American Robin, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Jay and Cedar Waxwing. (BNA 156: 1, 4, 8)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a fairly common migrant in Monroe and Wayne counties, also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to three birds, with a maximum count of 15, on dates ranging from 29 April to 29 May. He listed average fall counts of one to four birds, with a maximum count of 20, on dates ranging from 10 July to 27 October.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 200 times, with 70 sightings in spring, the rest fall. On average, no more than 3-5 at a time were seen. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon to fairly common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) uncommon spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 18 April to 19 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 29 April to 9 May. However, one on 4-5 April 1959 (Miller, mob) at Buck Pond (GNR) was even earlier, and was later tied by one on 4 April 2006 (D. Tetlow, Bounds) at Braddock Bay. (KB 56:241)In most years had departed by 30 May, with a late departure date of 21 June (1977). This migrant is often encountered along a woodland stream, usually single birds or pairs. However, it is occasionally found in flocks. Spring maxima: 51 on 3 May 1986 (Nicoletti) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, November 1986) 30 on 4-7 May 1979 (R. Clark, Symonds) at Murray. (LG, June 1979) 16 on 9 May 1991 (Listman) at Clarendon. (LG, June 1991) 15 on 14 May 1997 (Fox) at Lima. (Fox, p. 47)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 25 June to 26 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 12 to 30 July. In most years had departed by 5 October, with a late departure date of 26 October. Subsequently, one on 15 November 2005 (Davids, D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay set a new record late date. (LG, January 2006)
Fall maxima: 30 on 28 July 1984 (Davids, Griffith) at Avon. (GOS, September 1984) 24 on 29 July 1999 (K. Fox) at Cuylerville Marsh. (GNR)

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes
Ferne Merrill, co-leader of a Rochester Birding Association field trip in April 2006, was struck by the feeding behavior of one these shorebirds at a farm pond along Hogan Point Road. A Green-winged Teal and the yellowlegs were walking along the edge of the pond. “The duck seemed to be scaring up and eating food that it wanted while the Yellowlegs was busy catching what it wanted. They traveled together for at least ten feet. It struck me as a symbiotic relationship, even though it seemed to be temporary, that I had never seen before,” Merrill recounted. It may very well have been. The Birds of North America profile of the Lesser Yellowlegs cites at least three other examples of apparent cooperative feeding involving this and other species: In Alaska, Lesser Yellowlegs were observed closely following feeding Northern Shovelers and “pick(ing) up prey items in their wake.” In Florida, another of these shorebirds walked parallel to foraging Black-necked Stilts, “capturing small aquatic prey stirred up by them.” And just to turn the tables, a Bahama Duck sought out a yellowlegs and foraged behind it, both species sweeping their bills back and forth. (BNA 427: 9)Found in flooded fields and on mudflats and beaches, this is one of the more common migrant shorebirds in our region.
Background
This species’ distinctive tu-tu call is heard across the open woodlands, meadows and muskegs where it breeds, from northwestern Alaska, across the boreal zone of Canada to central Quebec. This species was “avidly sought by sport and market hunters in the late 1800s,” partly due to its “propensity to return and hover above wounded flockmates, making them easy targets,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Migration is primarily though the midcontinent in spring, but also along the Atlantic Coast in fall. Birds winter along U.S. coasts and in Central America, but heaviest concentrations are in northern South America, especially Suriname. This is an active forager that walks rapidly through shallow water, typically holding its neck stretched forward and bill at a 20-30 degree angle to the surface. Population, estimated at about 500,000, now appears stable. (BNA 427: 1-2, 4, 8, 18)
Local history
This species was less suspicious than Greater Yellowlegs, traveling in larger flocks and bunching more closely when coming to decoys, Eaton (1910) noted. As many as 106 were recorded being killed by discharging two barrels. “Is it any wonder that shore birds have diminished in numbers?” He listed it as a fairly common migrant in Monroe and Wayne counties, also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: 326, county charts)Fortunately, they are now protected, R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 10, on dates ranging from 9 April to 22 May. He gave average fall counts of one to six birds, with a maximum count of 25, on dates ranging from 11 July to 24 October.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 326 times, trailing only Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper among the shorebirds in frequency of occurrence. Eighty-five of the records were in spring; average counts were 10-20. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)     Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) fairly common spring transient and a regular fairly common fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 13 March to 9 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 1 to 28 April. Subsequently, one on 7 March 1998 (R. Dobson, Gillette) in Wayne County was record early. (GOS, May 1998)     In most years had departed by 31 May, with a late departure date of 26 June. Spring maxima:      145 on 2 May 2007 (C. Wood, T. Lenz) Carncross Road, Wayne County. (LG, July/August 2007)     240-300 on 2-6 May 1979 (R. Clark, Symonds, mob) at a “small, muddy swamp” in Murray. (LG, June 1979)     521 on 3 May 1986 (mob) at Braddock Bay was considered an “unprecedented” tally. (Levine, p. 237; GOS, November 1986)     124 on 3 May 1983 (C. Cass) at Hamlin Beach SP. (GNR)     186 on 3 May 1986 (Symonds, mob) at Murray. (LG, June 1986)     145 on 3 May 1987 (Keelan) Hamlin. (GOS, July 1987)     120 on 15 May 2002 (C. Cass) at Hamlin. (GNR) Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 17 June to 4 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 1 to 19 July. In most years had departed by 4 November, with a late departure date of 30 November when one was seen by Starling et al at Salmon Creek in 1957. (GOS, January-February 1958)Note the overlap on late departure and early arrival dates in June, making it hard to know whether 44 on 30 June 1977 (M. and T. Tetlow) at Long Pond were “coming or going”! (LG, July 1977)
Fall maxima:      200 max. on 18 July 2004 (Kimball) at Geneseo. (LG, September 2004)     250 on 29 August 1963 (Maley) at Shore Acres. (GOS, November 1963)     238 on 7 September 1999 (Davids, D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay. (LG, November 1999)

Willet

Tringa semipalmata (formerly Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
At first glance, Charlotte Beach appeared populated only with gulls on 6 October 1985 when members of a GOS field trip approached the waterfront. Ho hum. “On closer approach, quite a few small shorebirds were also apparent,” Dick O’Hara wrote. “These turned out to be Sanderlings and Dunlins, with a few Black-bellied Plovers as well.” Hmmm….interesting, but still not all that remarkable. “Then someone noticed a larger bird, all gray, with a straight bill. We speculated a little and then decided it could be a Willet, although the date seemed late,” O’Hara related. Now things were definitely looking up. “The bird permitted a close approach before flying ahead of us down the beach, but as soon as it spread its wings all doubt of its identity ended with a flash of black and white. A good start!” (GOS, December 1985) To be sure!Though this shorebird puts in an appearance just about every year in our region, it is decidedly scarce, often with only one or two individuals sighted. The fact that this was, indeed, a record late sighting for our region was further icing on the cake.
Background
Because of the remarkable wing pattern and loud whistled pill-will-willet, this bird “can scarcely be mistaken for any of our other shore birds,” Eaton noted, and can be safely identified even at great distances. (Eaton I: 329) No other North American sandpiper breeds as far south as the Willet, which nests from the Canadian Maritimes to Venezuela. There are two distinct breeding populations: Western Willet breeds primarily on freshwater habitats of western states and provinces where nesting habitat is abundant but food is unpredictable. Eastern Willet breeds in coastal marshes and barrier islands from New Brunswick to Tamaulipas, where food is abundant but nesting habitat is limited. This is an inconspicuous shorebird until it calls out “pill-will-willet” or spreads its wings, revealing a startling white wing stripe bordered in black. Migrants observed primarily along coasts, and irregularly throughout interior U.S. Populations have slowly rebuilt in the east since the market hunting of the late 1800s. In the west, range and numbers have shrunk because of loss of habitat to grain and other crops. Total population, which now appears stable, has been estimated at about 250,000, of which 160,000 are western, 90,000 eastern. (BNA 579:1, 4-5, 21)
Local history
Both Eaton and Edson considered this a “rare” migrant here. Eaton listed a single record for Monroe County, on 12 September 1885. (Eaton I: 329, county charts) Horsey did not show any records at all in his list of species seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913-1936. One at Chimney Bluffs on 14 August 1938 was the first report since the 1885 record, Edson noted. (WBR, 22 August 1938) The second was on 4 August 1940 west of Durand-Eastman Park, and the third not until 10 years later, when one was seen on 6 May 1950 (Kemnitzers) at Webster Park, then another on 17 June (O’Hara, Dolan, mob) at Braddock Bay. (WBR, 12 Aug 1940, 15 May 1950; GNR) When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported four times. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)Another that flew in off the lake from the east on 28 May 1966 (Kemnitzer) and landed on a sand spit at Sodus Point was the first in ten years (KB 16:158; BA, 2 June 1966) and the only record between 1956 and 1973.Since the mid 1970s there have been almost yearly sightings of one or two, most along the Lake Ontario shoreline, and nearly all in May or August. During this same period, the Willet increased as a breeder on Long Island, from an initial three nests in 1966 to 150 pairs along one 18-mile stretch of salt marsh in 1983. (Andrle, p. 154)
Status Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an occasional, very rare spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
Of about 58 records since 1950, nearly half – 25 – have been in May, and 17 in August. Single birds are the norm.

Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 30 April (1984) to 17 June (1950). Often only a single occurrence a season. However, as many as three birds were reported in May 1978 (KB 28:171); on 18 May 1980 (KB 30:166) during the “best shorebird flight in recent memory,” and in May 2002. (KB 52:242) As many as four were reported in April/May 1984. (KB 34:179)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 14 July to 12 September. Subsequently, one on 11 July 2005 (D. Tetlow) at Hogan Point was earlier (KB 55:363), and one on 6 October 1985 (O’Hara, mob) at Charlotte set a record late date. (KB 36:21)As in spring, normally only a single occurrence a season. However, as many as three individuals were reported in August and September of 1988. (KB 38:262; 39:41)Fall maxima: 5 on 18 August 1979 (Perrigo) at Kendall (KB 29:216) made a “fleeting touchdown and weary departure” at one of the ponds along the parkway on a “cold and rainy afternoon,” reported Glenn “Chip” Perrigo, who was in the right place at the right time to witness our largest tally of these birds. They were “no doubt members of the Western population” and “were last seen paralleling the shoreline, black and white wings flashing like a string of shipboard beacons blinking out into the Eastern fog.” (LG, September 1979; BA, 29 August 1979) 3 on 25 August 1985 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 35:265)

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca
The wind picked up and the sky darkened as a double cold front moved in from the west and prepared to hit the Lake Ontario shoreline with wind, rain and an electrical storm “of unusual intensity” on 28 August 1976. Glenn “Chip” Perrigo watched several birds come “pitching into a dry field out of the threatening sky and hunch down to face the elements.” (BA, 1 September 1976) They were Greater Yellowlegs and separating these birds from the smaller, almost identical Lesser Yellowlegs is among the first challenges for beginning birders.This migrant can be found on flooded fields, mudflats, and beaches – and occasionally in more unusual “habitats.” For example, five birders driving the west lakeshore were surprised to find one standing in the middle of Jacobs Road, Hamlin, in September 1988 with a group of Killdeer. The birds acted like “they were just absorbing the heat reflected from the blacktop,” Frank Dobson reported. “We eased to within a dozen feet of the beautiful long-legged creature, the closest any of us had ever been to the normally spooky bird. As luck would have it, there was not a camera in the crowd.” (Birds, 2 October 1988)
Background
The piercing alarm calls gave rise to such nicknames as telltale, tattler and yelper. More solitary than most sandpipers, this shorebird breeds in the swampy muskegs of central Canada and southern Alaska, and winters in wetlands primarily in the southern U.S. and throughout Central and South America. It migrates on a broad front across North America and is often among the first shorebirds to arrive in spring. Birds often perch in treetops on breeding grounds to detect predators; incubating birds sit so tightly on “cryptic” nests on the ground that they can occasionally be lifted off the nest. Despite great similarity to Lesser Yellowlegs, differences in skeletal structure and plumage have led some researchers to contend they are not sister species at all, suggesting instead “convergence, perhaps through mimicry.” Numbers apparently increased after hunting ceased in the early 20th century, and are thought to be stable, but hard data on current populations and trends are lacking. (BNA 355: 1-3, 11, 15)
Local history
Eaton observed that these birds “do not bunch so closely as some shore birds when alighting among decoys.” This, combined with their “suspicious nature,” would likely “prove the salvation of the species” in the lopsided contest with hunters. He indicated it was a fairly common migrant in Monroe County, common in Wayne and also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: 324, county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to three birds, with a maximum count of 10, on dates ranging from 12 April to 24 May. He gave average fall counts of one to six birds, with a maximum count of 12, on dates ranging from 18 July to 25 October.When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 204 times, compared to 326 sightings of Lesser Yellowlegs. About 78 of the records were in spring; the best average counts of 10 to 20 were in late October. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common spring transient and a (presumably regular) fairly common fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 16 March (1973) to 4 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 2 to 24 April. Subsequently one on 9 March 1992 (Kesselrings) at Salmon Creek was earlier. (GOS, May 1992)In most years had departed by 30 May, with a late departure date of 21 June. However, it is possible that birds earlier in June may be already headed south. One on 17 June 2000 at Hogan Point raised the perpetual shorebird dilemma: “late or early?” (KB 50:401)
Spring/summer maxima: 51 on 16 April 2002 (R. Spahn) at Hamlin. (GNR) 38 on 28 April 1979 (O’Hara, R. Spahn) at Hamlin. (GNR) 40 on 1 May 1979 (R. Clark, Symonds) at Murray. (LG, June 1979) 30 on 2 May 1987 (R. Spahn) Hamlin. (GOS, July 1987) 120 on 2 May 2007 (C. Wood, T. Lenz) Carncross Road. (LG, July/August 2007) 30 on 7 May 1958 (Haller) at Avon. (KB8:47)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 26 June (1952) to 15 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 4 to 29 July. In most years had departed by 15 November, with a late departure date of 18 December. Another was still at Salmon Creek (O’Hara, Corcoran) on 12 December 1953. (GOS, November/December 1953)
Fall maxima: 75 on 24 October 1953 (Barry) at Buck Pond. (GOS, November/December 1953) 40 on 29 October 1961 (Listman) at Groveland Flats. (KB 11: 210)

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola
Thanks to excellent optics, handy field guides and increased knowledge, most modern birders can identify a reasonably cooperative bird in a matter of minutes. However, in the case of one of the more remarkable finds in our region, proper identification didn’t come for 72 years. It all began with a shorebird specimen dated 10 October 1907 from Gaines, Orleans County. It was initially identified as a Solitary Sandpiper, and 40 years later the specimen was donated to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California at Berkeley. “On a recent visit to the museum, however, ornithologist John G. Williams found that the specimen had been misidentified and is actually a wood sandpiper in adult winter plumage,” John Brown reported in 1980 (BA, 14 August 1980).
Background
As Brown noted, the slim, graceful Wood Sandpiper is a Eurasian species, breeding in damp, open parts of the boreal forest, or in marshes with dwarf deciduous scrub in Sandinavia, Russia and Siberia. So it is not particularly remarkable that they occasionally show up in Alaska, but quite remarkable that one should show up in western New York. In fact, this was one of only two records for all of eastern North America as of 1996 (Hayman, pp. 330-331; Levine, p. 238).And for decades, nobody even realized it.
Status
Exotic, very rare vagrant.
Occurrence The 1907 specimen is our only record.

Wilson’s Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor
The Perinton Ponds were the place to be for this species in the spring of 1977. Following two days of north winds and clear weather, three “striking” females showed up in the company of a black-plumaged Ruff. The phalaropes “stayed for a single day and disappeared on northwest winds,” Mike Tetlow and Dominic Sherony recounted. A week later, another female appeared, followed by a male on the 24th, “to bring the tally up to 5 for 1977.” (LG, Vol. 8: No. 9)The following year came an even more intriguing record. Amidst a searing heat wave on 22 July, an RBA cleanup crew gathered up the debris at the West Spit, then headed west along the parkway to look for birds. At the first borrow pit, “an immature Wilson’s Phalarope flushed from underfoot. Down feathers still protruded from the head and neck and its peculiar manner of flight was caused by a shortened undeveloped tail,” Chip Perrigo reported. “For the last few years, the Eastward advancement and increase of this once locally rare shorebird has led us to speculate that a nesting colonization of New York State is imminent, if it hasn’t already occurred. The gangly ‘big-legged’ young Wilson’s in Kendall on the 22nd brings us tantalizingly close to the discovery of a local nest.” (LG, August 1978) The following July, yet another “fuzzy, though fledged immature,” was found at Point Breeze – but breeding was not confirmed. (KB 29:215; LG August 1979)
Background
This largest and most terrestrial of the phalaropes breeds primarily in shallow wetlands in the interior of the western United States, then staging at hypersaline, alkaline lakes before migrating to similar wintering grounds in Bolivia and Argentina. Loss of prairie wetlands hurt this species in the early 1900s, but its breeding range has expanded dramatically in recent decades, with nesting now reported at James Bay and the St. Lawrence Valley, as far east as Massachusetts and as far north as Alaska. It is one of the earliest fall migrants, with females departing breeding grounds for staging areas by mid June. The North American population was estimated at 1.5 million fall birds in 1988. Major declines were noted at some staging areas starting in the mid 1980s, probably because of drought, but evidence of overall population declines is “inconclusive.” (BNA 83: 1-3, 12)
Local history
Eaton (1910) lists a single record for Monroe County, in September 1882, and another at Murray, Orleans County, the same month. (Eaton I:293, county charts) George Guelf reported two sightings on Lake Ontario north of Brockport – one bird on 19 August 1910 and four on 20 August 1911. (B&M, p. 238)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only a single record: one on 18 September 1932. In 1939 another was recorded “from the marshes along the lake shore north of Hilton,” Edson reported. (WBR, 31 July 1939) Edson would also later refer to sightings on 30 September and 5 October 1949. (WBR, 20 July 1959)When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester rom 1951-1954, he found this species reported only three times. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)However, starting in 1953, this species has been recorded almost annually here. “We wonder if they were overlooked (earlier) or if conditions have changed and these birds have changed their migration routes to take in our region,” Edson wondered (WBR, 20 July 1959)Best years were the late 1970s, when as many as 10 birds a season were reported. Since then, still almost annual, but often only one or two birds a season. An exception was May 1997 when as many as 9 birds were reported. (LGNR, KB 47:202)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, rare to uncommon spring and fall transient. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual, very rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Of about 142 records from 1949-2005, nearly half – 64 – were in May and another 34 in August.

Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 2 May to 10 June, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 11 to 21 May. Subsequently a female from 26-30 April 2007 (F. Morlock, mob) at Carncross Road, Savannah was record early. (LG, June 2007) In most years had departed by 6 June, with a late departure date of 26 June (1977). Generally only one or two birds a season, except for an incredible run from 1976 to 1980 when multiple sightings were the norm. There were six sightings May into June 1976; at least seven the following spring and in 1978, five in spring 1979 and a total of at least 10 birds in ones or twos May into June 1980. (See GNR and LGNR)Spring maxima: 4 on 11 May 1978 (Clark, Symonds) at Bergen. (KB 28:171) 3 females on 12 May 1977 (M. and D. Tetlow, Sherony) at Perinton. (KB 27: 152) 3 on 19 May 1987 (M. Robinson, mob) at Perinton. (KB 37:149, LGNR)
Summer/Breeding status: Perrigo’s speculation about eventual nesting in our region is not beyond the realm of possibility. Though breeding has not been confirmed in our region, evidence of breeding was found in four blocks in New York State during the second Breeding Bird Atlas, including possible breeding in Niagara County to our west and probable breeding in Seneca County to our east.
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 11 July (1959) to 25 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 26 July to 23 August. However, one on 1 July 1974 (O’Hara) at Nations Road was earlier. (KB 24: 189) In most years had departed by 6 September, with a late departure date of 4 October. Subsequently, one on 9 October 1985 (mob) at Shore Acres set a new record late date. (KB 36:21, GNR)Five separate individuals were scattered across the region from 14-16 August 1980. (KB 30:230) Fall maxima: 3 on 15 July 1992 (Davids, Symonds) at Hamlin. (KB 42:240) 3 on 24 August 1979 at Carlton. (GNR)

Red-necked Phalarope

(formerly Northern Phalarope)Phalaropus lobatus
A great many Rochester birders, no doubt, have wondered what they might find if they dared the winds and waves to venture out on Lake Ontario during the fall. One party of 11 birders did just that on 18 October 1953, riding a 40-foot twin screw cruiser about 12 miles out onto the lake under a gentle southerly breeze and sunny, calm conditions that, if anything, may have been a bit too benign. So what did they find? Not all that much, actually. About 500 Oldsquaw, small flocks of White-winged Scoters, a single Black Scoter. The farther out they went, the less they saw: at 12 miles offshore only widely scattered Herring and Bonaparte’s gulls were to be found.Their best find: A Northern Phalarope about eight miles out. “When I first saw it,” Neil Moon wrote, “it seemed to be spinning and turning as is characteristic of phalaropes. We practically ran into the bird; it let us approach to about 50-75 feet and we all had a good look before it flew and lit again only 200 yards away. The striped back, needle bill, prominent wing stripe, and its action in the water made identification very easy.” (GOS November/December 1953)
Background
This smallest and daintiest of the phalaropes spends up to 9 months of the year at sea, “riding on a raft of dense belly plumage” and feeding on tiny plankton and invertebrates at oceanographic fronts and convergences. Like the other two phalaropes, they are famous for “lifting aquatic prey within reach by rapidly spinning in tight circles in a manner reminiscent of a slightly demented toy,” notes a profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. During the breeding season it can be found across the Holarctic, nesting near tundra lakes, pools, bogs, marshes and streams from Alaska, across northern Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, northern Russia and Siberia. Birds stage at hypersaline lakes in western U.S., and formerly in the Bay of Fundy in large numbers, before departing for pelagic wintering grounds. Beginning in the 1980s, there was a dramatic decline in fall birds staging in the Bay of Fundy, from as many as 3 million to none in the 1990s. (Brown et al, pp. 1-3) The disappearance of birds from this staging area, and other declines in migrants off Japan, are alarming and unexplained. They may be staging elsewhere in response to change in currents or food base, but so far no alternate staging areas have been found. One study suggested a total Canadian population at more than 2 million. However, there is too little data available to assess population trends. Generally observed moving south at earlier dates than Red Phalarope at most locations in U.S. and Canada. (BNA 538: 1, 2, 4-5, 19-20)
Local history
The Float Bridge at Irondequoit Bay was the place to be the late summer and fall of 1949, Richard O’Hara reported in the Goshawk. As the water level dropped, the shorebirding was outstanding. And high on the list were the two Northern (now Red-necked) Phalaropes spotted there by Allen Kemnitzer on 10 September. “The pair remained for a week or more, dabbing and spinning in the creek and marsh along the dike, with little fear of humans.” (GOS, August-October 1949)Eaton (1910) considered this our commonest phalarope, even inland, and listed it as a transient visitor in Monroe County, but not Wayne or Livingston. (Eaton I: 291, county charts). Guelf believed this species was more common than supposed on Lake Ontario from mid to late August, and “observed birds of this species on several occasions while he was sailing offshore near Hamlin . . .” (B&M, p. 239). However, R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only a single record: 4 on 20 November 1932. Another was reported in a flock of shorebirds “on the mud flats near the lake in the vicinity of Payne Beach” on 17 July 1938, Edson reported. (WBR, 24 July 1938)By the early 1950s Edson considered it, though “not at all common,” the phalarope most likely to be encountered here. (WBR, 26 October 1953)That was borne out when Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954. Northern Phalarope was reported 13 times, compared to five sightings of Red Phalarope and only three of Wilson’s. (KB 5: 69: 3A-3B)“I believe that if we could get a mile, or more, out in the lake during August and September we would see many more of these birds as the flock, reported this week, was seen on a cruise about eight miles out on the lake,” Edson wrote. (WBR, 26 October 1953, 6 September 1954; note, this is an apparent reference to the single bird described by Moon in the introduction.) Howard Miller and Alfred Starling didn’t have to leave land to find not one, but six of them, all in breeding plumage, on Memorial Day 1964. They were feeding in a marshy field pond along Parma-Hamlin Town Line Road. (BA, 4 June 1964; KB 14:161) Such spring sightings have been rare here. There was only one sighting between 1987 and 1996. However, increased coverage at Hamlin Beach and improved optics have contributed to annual reports since then.
Status Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon fall transient and an occasional, rare spring transient.
Occurrence
Of about 100 records here since 1949, more than 40 were in September, and nearly two thirds in that month and October. Usually seen on Lake Ontario or adjoining bays.

Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 6 April to 4 June. Only seven spring records since 1949, and none since 1982.Spring maxima: 6 on 30 May 1964 (Miller, Starling) at Parma. (KB 14:161)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 17 July to 19 October, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 26 August to 12 September. In most years had departed by 19 November, with a late departure date of 5 January 1983, when one was still at Irondequoit Bay. (KB 33:118)Fall maxima: 8 on 24 August 1975 (mob) along the west lakeshore. (KB 25:215) 7 on 27 August 2000 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach. (KB 50: 402) 6 on 7 October 1983 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach. (KB 34:42, LGNR) 18 on 18 October 2001 (D. Tetlow, Soule) off Hamlin Beach SP during a fall in which 27 were tallied. (KB 52:59) 9 on 27 October 1980 (Griffith) at Russell Station. (KB 31:27, LGNR)

Red Phalarope

Phalaropus fulicarius
“As the sun rose Tuesday morning and started to dispel the autumn chill, a pale shorebird flew in from the lake and alighted on the water a hundred feet or more off the Charlotte Pier,” John Brown reported. (BA, 29 September 1966) “Marking its course was Walter Listman of Manitou Beach, out early to check on the fall migration across the lake. The bird swam in toward the pier, feeding around floating algae, then probing crannies in the pier itself. Listman was looking straight down at the bird, only a few feet away. It was the closest view he’d ever had of a live Red phalarope . . .”These interesting shorebirds are not common visitors here, but when they do show up, they can be quite tame. Kevin Griffith and Bob Marcotte were able to approach within a few feet of one at the East Spit on 11 November 1991. They took turns lying on the rocks to take pictures at point blank range. (GOS, December 1991) Background
This is the most pelagic of the phalarope species, spending as many as 11 months each year in marine habitats, notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. It nests in coastal tundra across northern Alaska, Canada, Europe and Asia, overlapping in the southern part of its range with Red-necked Phalarope, but not with Wilson’s. Migrants often feed in mud plumes created by foraging gray whales, or near bowhead whales; whalers watched for flocks of these birds to guide them. Wintering birds remain far out at sea in tropical and subtropical waters, at the edge of marine “fronts” where water density changes abruptly because of temperature or salinity. The phalaropes feed on zooplankton that concentrate along these fronts. Though migration tends to be completely over open ocean, it is suspected that some birds that winter off the west coast of Africa, when returning to Canada, “may shortcut the Atlantic route, cutting through Great Lakes and Hudson Bay.” Numbers fluctuate from year to year, and throughout the season. Though the worldwide population has been estimated as high as 5 million, these estimates are quite crude. Some data and anecdotal evidence suggest declining populations from historical highs, with declines of up to 76 percent in the east-central Canadian Arctic, but this needs additional research. (BNA 698: 1, 4, 7, 22)
Local history
Eaton (1910) did not list this species as occurring in Monroe, Wayne or Livingston counties. So our first record may well have been “The red phalarope in the fall plumage . . . reported on the lake shore east of Summerville Oct. 9,” Edson noted in 1935. (WBR, 14 October 1935) This was the only record listed by Horsey. Edson, however, reported that Mrs. Horace G. Pierce had found one on 20 Sept. 1936 at Charlotte. (WBR 28 Sept 1936) Another was found dead on the lakeshore at Summer Haven in December 1938. (WBR, 19 Dec 1938) Surely one of our best documented birds was a Red Phalarope that obligingly “gleaned its food from the wash of waves” at Charlotte for several hours on 14 November 1948, under the watchful eyes of “90 top bird students of the state” who were attending a Federation of New York State Bird Clubs field trip! (WBR 22 November 1948) This species had not been seen in the area “in many years.” (GOS, January-February 1949). A year later, another was observed on 6 November (Kemnitzer) near the Irondequoit Bay outlet, and another on 3 December (Moons) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) There were five records during the 1950s, all in fall except one unaccountably at Oklahoma Beach “apparently feeding on bunches of seaweed” on 16 January 1955. (WBR, 24 January 1955) This bird was found by Don Bieber, Harry Van Beurden and Walt Listman as they participated in the annual waterfowl census. “They had gone out along the railroad and the bank overlooking the lake,” John Brown reported. (BA, 20 January 1955) “They spotted the phalarope feeding among aquatic plants washed into shore by lake waves. Viewing the bird from above, at close range, they were able to identify it beyond doubt by its plain back and stout bill, yellowish at the base.”“Why, oh why,” Edson wondered, “has it picked this cold and inhospitable place when the others are disporting themselves in the warm waters of the South Atlantic?”And yet, two others, first sighted on 20 November 1966 (Kemnitzer) near Irondequoit Bay outlet lingered well into January of 1967, with one still being reported on 5 February at Irondequoit Bay. (GNR; BA, 25 November 1966, 9 February 1967) Bull (1974) considered this species to be usually “very rare” inland, almost invariably single birds in the fall. (Bull, p. 263) However, either five or seven were reported 22 November 1970 (Dutchers, mob) at Sea Breeze. (KB 11: 15; GOS, January 1971)And, starting in 1959, this species has been reported almost annually in fall.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, rare fall transient and a casual, very rare spring visitant. Occurrence
Nearly 80 records from 1948-2005, more than three quarters during October-December.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 30 August (1975) to 26 November, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 7 October to 16 November. Subsequently, one on 28 August 1986 (Symonds, Davids) at Hamlin Beach set a new record early date (KB 36:218), tied by another the following year (C. Cass, Reinhardt, mob) at the south end of Irondequoit Bay. (KB 37:223) In most years had departed by 20 December, with a late departure date of 5 February (1967).
Fall maxima: 10 on 17 September 1999 (D. Tetlow, Ewald) at Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 50: 53) 15 on 27 November 1997 (Hamlin Beach lakewatch) off Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 48:49)
Spring: One record, one on 14 March 1982 (Kemnitzer) at Parma. (GNR, KB 32:191)

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