The Lonely Traveler

As a rule, most shorebirds tend to travel in flocks or small groups. Not so for the Solitary Sandpiper. It prefers to travel alone as it migrates to and from its northern breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska to its wintering grounds from Mexico to South America. Of the handful of reports in the past month, all were single bird sightings. "Solitary" is a well-deserved name for this bird.

The first two reports this year were in Victoria at MacIntyre Reservoir and Rithet's Bog respectively. I actually checked MacIntyre when I was in Victoria. Rick Shortinghouse was already there when I arrived. Neither of us had any luck spotting the bird. Murphy's Law was at work as Rick finally found the bird just after I left. It didn't make any difference to me as it the reservoir is a difficult place for photography. There is no way to get close to the birds. The third report came from an astute birder in Lantzville. Scott Gilmore had noticed an unusual bird at an obscure, secluded pond at Copley Park. The small pond was about 50 x 25 meters and totally invisible from the sky, but it was shallow with a muddy shoreline - the perfect habitat for a Solitary. Scott suspected it was a Solitary Sandpiper and was able to photograph it through his binoculars. Looking at his posting on BCVIBIRDS, there was no doubt that it was a Solitary.

As soon as I read Scott's posting I Googled Copley Park, found its location, and headed for the park. I wanted to see the bird. I hadn't seen one in four years and didn't have any decent photos. I searched carefully for a half hour with no success. Scott and his family and Ralph Hocken arrived on the scene, and we searched fruitlessly for another half hour. It was a pleasure to meet Scott and his birding family, but it was disappointing not to find the bird. I also enjoyed meeting Ralph again to exchange notes on birding, photographers, and publishers.

After three unsuccessful visits to Copley Park, I knew that I was due. Scott had reported the day before that the bird was still around. The Law of Averages said that I was bound to find the bird if I kept trying. It was Tuesday morning, and I had two hours to kill before my tee time.

Aug. 11 - There was no one around as I quietly approached the pond. The Solitary was on the muddy shoreline right in front of the picnic bench. As soon as it saw me it fluttered to a sunken branch. Despite being in the shadows, I clicked about twenty shots for the record just in case I didn't see it again. I was surprised to see that the results were pretty good as in the first reflection pool photo.

The Solitary was still on the branch as I moved around to my right to find a window through the branches and underbrush. (second photo)

Eventually, the Solitary flew to the far end of the pond. I hung around for another half hour as was just about to leave when I saw it heading towards me. I hid behind a tree and waited, but after 20 minutes it turned around. I snuck up to a little opening near the end and eased myself onto the black, muddy shoreline and waited. The Solitary was foraging towards the only patch of sun on the pond. When it reached the sunlight started clicking and got the pictures I wanted. Thanks to Scott, I finally saw another Solitary and got my best pictures. Also, my apologies to Sable for missing her age by 40%. I said she was 3 when in fact she is 5.

Aug. 12 - A short visit to the Eaglecrest beach yielded about 20 peeps. Most of them were Western Sandpipers. They were all actively feeding except for this pair that were enjoying an afternoon siesta.

Aug. 14 - After the storm and downpour on Aug. 13, I expected a reasonable fallout of shorebirds at Holden Creek. The massive fallout didn't materialize, but there was a gentle sprinkling of waders to make the trip worthwhile. I was pleased to find a Short-billed Dowitcher foraging in the company of a Lesser Yellowlegs. While the Long-billeds are usually common, I've only seen a few Short-billeds in the past four years.

There were also several small flocks of peeps swirling around, but they were very skittish. On the other hand, the Short-billed and Lesser were extremely cooperative and allowed for all the close-up shots I wanted.

If you're wondering why I post so many shots of the same bird, it's not just because I'm trying to fill up space. It's also for your benefit to see the bird from different angles so you can study the field marks.

The size of the bill is not a diagnostic feature for dowitchers. There is an overlap in bill sizes between the small male Long-billed and the large female Short-billed. Did i get that right? Anyway, you can't rely on bill size alone.

Unlike gull identification, juvenile dowis are the easiest to identify. The Short-billeds have white undersides and bright markings on their tertials.

Finally, a small flock of peeps landed beside the Short-billed and Lesser. A Merlin in the vicinity was keeping all the birds on edge, but my little pond looked like a safe place to forage. I was delighted to see a couple of light-coloured peeps. They were Semipalmated Sandpipers.

The whitish colouring, small, stubby bill, and crisp, even fringes were definitive for juvenile Semi-sands.

Most of the Semi-sands I see are very light-coloured, but that isn't always the case. The experts will tell you that colour is not always the best field mark as you will see in the next photo.

At first glance I thought this couldn't be a Semi-sand, but the structure and especially the rather thick, short bill says it's a Semi-sand.

The Merlin at Holden didn't stay around for photos, but look what I found at Legacy Marsh. After a fruitless check for grosbeaks and other songbirds at the far end, I spotted a Merlin on my way out.

I pulled over, raised my window, lowered my seat, and pointed the camera up to the top of a cedar tree. The Merlin was gone but soon returned with a dragonfly. From about 25 meters I could only see the Merlin when it sat up. Not bad for the distance, angle, and cropping.

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Bird Poster

My posters are on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House; Nanoose Bay - Credit Union; Courtenay - Graham's Jewellers

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