For the most part, I do the majority of my picture taking in the Milwaukee area. The last few years have not been very good here for shorebirds though, this year included. We did get several Buff-breasted Sandpipers at Lakeshore State Park, which were awesome! There was also a Stilt Sandpiper in a flooded field off County Line Rd. We got two there in spring as well. The hotspot around me this migration season was the Wind Lake Sod Farms. There was an Upland Sandpiper, 10+ Buff-breasted Sandpipers, over 30 American Golden Plovers, several Black-bellied Plovers, a few Semipalmated Plovers, hundreds of Killdeer, 10+ Baird’s Sandpipers, 1 Sanderling and several Least, Pectoral and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Most of the birds provided great looks, with a little patience. I think they had certain areas closer to the roads, that were turned over, creating good close spots for the birds this year. All the photos below were taken in August and September. Enjoy!
Upland Sandpiper in Racine County 8/9/20
An Upland Sandpiper was seen yesterday near the sod farms. It was still around today. The bird was seen on the east side of Britton Rd, between Olsen and Burmeister. When I arrived, it was maybe 75yds out, feeding in the grass. I would say it provided fairly good views, but the heat distortion was terrible! I watched it for about 30 minutes, and the last 10 or so, it went into the stubble field and was harder to find. With the storms and wind still from the south, it’s possible it would still be around tomorrow, good habitat for it. I was able to manage a few photos despite the heat distortion. Enjoy!
