White-rumped Sandpiper - Bear Cove Pt. Road (Nov. 4, 2011)

 On the same day that I saw the Western Kingbird and the Dovekie this great little White-rumped Sandpiper just appeared in a puddle on the road near the light house at Bear Cove Point.

 It was calm and cooperative, perfectly content to let us look, photograph and just generally enjoy his presence.

He made no effort to get away as we searched the area for any one of the special birds found in the surrounding woods as reported by other birders.

It is remarkable how small this little bird seems when you are really close to it.  His coloring was still vibrant which may be a little unusual for early November.

 If only he could talk, maybe he knew were the rare birds may have been hiding.

Bear Cove Point Road has been an amazing place to bird from Spring to Fall. Even though there were some days that it was very quiet I experienced some amazing days of birding on this road.

Now that we have had our first snow fall (a record for any November since 1980 - 29 cm.) it is not likely that I will go up this road again until Spring 2012.  Winter offers a different kind of birding and I must admit that my favorite time is when Spring warmth breaks through and all of the birds are singing in the woods.  In the meantime I have saved a lot of pictures of small, colorful birds to share during the long, cold winter months.


Click on any image to see an enlargement.