Buffies

Buff-breasted Sandpipers are one of my favorite shorebirds.  They look cool, they are relatively rare, and they are not seen as often in "typical" shorebird habitat.  All of which make Buffies cool birds to see.  Their main migration route takes them right through the heart of the country, but even in my county (which lies in the migration route) they had not been seen before.  Well today I just added them to the Rooks County list.  I was at Webster Reservoir, checking out a large mudflat that has appeared because of the drought conditions.  This particular place is going to be on my watch list for the rest of the season because it's great habitat for shorebirds that like mudflats, shorebirds that like a bit drier terrain, and gulls/terns.  I went out there hoping to find a Caspian Tern or something like that...no luck. So I scanned the area of the mudflat that is drier and contains short vegetation.  There were quite a few Killdeer around, so I was hopeful, and sure enough, I spotted 4 adult Buff-breasted Sandpipers!