Purple Sandpiper in Niagara Falls
Published: May 04, 2014
Tags: General Observations, Purple Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Yellow Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Sora, Virginia Rail, Common Gallinule, Bald Eagle, Baltimore Oriole
After looking through the gulls on Goat Island, I hiked the area looking for warblers. I found only a few - I think the winds were just too strong up by the falls and the birds with any common sense, were laying low.
After finding some Yellows, a couple of Pines, a Black-and-white, and a Yellow-rumped, I headed back towards the car. As I passed "the shelf", just a little below where a lot of the gulls were hanging out, I noticed a sandpiper - two sandpipers, actually: a Spotted and a Purple. The sun was right behind them but I still took a bunch of photos for ID purposes. This was my best view of a Purple to date...
A little earlier, I saw my first-of-year Baltimore Oriole and Black-throated Blue Warbler at Forest Lawn - and a little later, I saw my first-of-year Common Gallinule and Sora at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. In spite of the high winds and by all accounts, the birds were still being seen!
 Purple Sandpiper  Purple Sandpiper  Purple Sandpiper  Purple Sandpiper  Purple Sandpiper  Purple Sandpiper  Spotted Sandpiper  Bald Eagle  Black-throated Blue Warbler  Yellow Warbler  Pine Warbler  Pine Warbler  Baltimore Oriole  Eastern Towhee - a poor shot, but I think it's the only time I ever caught a female on camera!  Sora - the first photos that I've been able to get of this elusive bird  Sora  Virginia Rail  Common Gallinule
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