It’s that time of year when shorebirds migrate south from their breeding grounds. The first shorebirds began arriving in southeast Michigan over the past couple weeks.
While it’s exciting to see shorebirds return to our area after several months up north, their return is also the beginning of my grumbling, ranting season.
Shorebirds are hard enough to identify when they’re in breeding plumage, with bright colors that make it a bit easier to distinguish what they are.
But, when they’re in non-breeding plumage and many of them are juveniles with dull, muted colors, it’s even more of a challenge.
I spend hours pouring over my photos, checking leg color, eyerings, underbellies, and foraging habits as I attempt to confirm what shorebird I’ve seen on distant mudflats.
It’s always easier when you have other birders nearby who can help.
But we often bird on our own, and my husband and I aren’t confident with shorebird identification.
Solitary Sandpipers, like the one in this post, are one of the few shorebirds I feel I can identify on my own.
For folks in the Northern Hemisphere, have you seen any shorebirds return to your area?
