Baird's Sandpiper at Cummings Beach

Yesterday I caught a quick glimpse of three Baird's Sandpipers flying by in the company of a half a dozen Least Sandpipers. These are the two peeps we see most frequently in August and September. Today, a lone Baird's Sandpiper foraged beside the boat launch at Cummings Beach.

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Shorebirds near Pukaskwa National Park

As one drives south on Hwy 627, just before the bridge over the Pic River, the "s-curve pond" comes into view. Today it held a nice group of southbound shorebirds - Stilt Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitcher.

[click on images to enlarge]

Out-of-season Long-tailed Duck in Peninsula Harbour

For the first time in a few months I walked along the shore of Peninsula Harbour this afternoon hoping to turn up a few shorebirds. There were a few Lesser Yellowlegs and a Killdeer. Less expected were an American Coot - only the third I've seen on the north shore - swimming off the break wall beside the decommissioned paper mill, and nearby, a male Long-tailed Duck, beached beside a Red-breasted Merganser family.

Last summer, a male Long-tailed Duck similarly spent the summer here.

[click on images to enlarge]