Upland Sandpiper

Maria and I met about 9 a.m. at the Muskegon Wastewater fields, specifically, to look for Upland Sandpipers, and Dickcissels and Bobolinks for her. Almost immediately after stopping on the road in, we saw Uplands. They would fly about, land out of sight in the tall grasses for 10 to 15 seconds and then fly up and about again. As I was watching this behavior, one flew directly to the road in front of me, landed very briefly, thank you very much. Skinny neck and small head. Nice and easy. A new bird for both of us.

In the same area, a bobolink preened and turned and displayed nicely very close to us, clinging to the top of some weeds. I do think we must have been near a nest, as we realized the nice looks we got were probably due to agitation. This bird is jet black underneath, black and white on the back with a broad buffy band across the back of its head, a wonderful cafe au lait color. And, as we were walking back to the car, a dickcissel perched and sang on a post very close to us. This bird is also a classy little thing...chestnut wings, black and yellow on its breast, broad yellow eyebrow and a thick bill. It sings a lot this time of year, and most photos show the bird with its head tipped back singing heartily. We saw several, but this one was very close.

We then drove around the lagoons, amazed at the swarms of mosquitoes. Saw spotted sandpipers, with their distinct spotted breasts and bellies. They were spaced evenly around the perimeter..we saw five or six. Bluebirds, killdeer, meadowlarks, but very few ducks. Hundreds of ring-billed gulls on the center dike which is still closed off.

On Swanson road south of Apple Avenue, we saw a great blue heron in a drainage ditch, silhouetted against the eastern sun; we saw several sandhill cranes, two of them in a field west of us with the sun highlighting their bright rusty color. The field were very green, the sky very blue, and the cranes very reddish. The other first-of-year birds for both of us were horned larks. Again, we saw several. They like gravel and are often in the middle of the roads. The trick is to get close enough without flushing them, and we did. We even saw the teeny black horns that aren't visible unless one is close.

Home again before the heat of the day set in.