I was out chasing warblers at Warnimont Park yesterday evening, when I saw an eBird hourly report of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Milwaukee. The location was inaccurate and the only details were “along the lakefront”. Since I had only 14 warbler species and it was rather slow for songbirds, I decided to head down to LSSP, and see if that was the location for it. On my way, photos were posted of the buffy and it sure appeared to be LSSP. When I arrived behind the Summerfest grounds, I could see people on the beach and a dog in the water, which is a terrible combo for shorebirds! I looked through my binoculars and could see a bird along the waters edge. I walked out and got to the beach, the bird had just flown from the other side, to right in front of me, how convenient! The sun was setting and the lighting was terrible. I tried to position myself to better the light, but it really wasn’t possible. I got setup and started taking photos. I immediately knew this was NOT a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, but rather a Baird’s Sandpiper. Sometime in the hour and a half from original sighting to me getting there, the buffy left and was replaced by a Baird’s. I was ok with that, because I did not have one for the county on the year. The bird was extremely tame, like most sandpipers, if you sit still around them. I watched it feed for about 30 minutes. A Green Heron also came flying in and walked around the beach for a little while. At one point, it seemed like it was going to chase the Baird’s. The Baird’s ran around him and I had to stand up, which flushed the heron across the water. Towards the end of viewing, a few friends joined and it was nice to chat for a little while. It was a beautiful evening with a spectacular sunset. Enjoy!
Providing a realistic experience to wildlife
