Out of area - Wood Sandpiper in Delaware, May 11th

Normally found in the Aleutians, a Wood Sandpiper was found in Delaware on May 5th and was cooperative enough to stick around for at least a week. I've seen this species in Britain a fair number of times since it used to migrate through my local patch as a kid, but not yet on this side of the pond. This was apparently the third record for the north-east (1907, 1990 in Rye NY and this bird). Well worth the drive down to the Broadkill Beach impoundments at Prime Hook NWR south of Dover DE. Big numbers of Least Sandpipers along with other shorebird species, with Blue Grosbeak and Eastern Meadowlark singing from the wires.

The weather wasn't quite as pretty with increasing overcast and quite a bit of wind. I dropped by Bombay Hook NWR on the way back north (near Smyrna, DE) and found quite a few shorebirds along the entrance round although precious few in the rather full impoundments on the reserve proper.

Getting closer to home I stopped at Heislerville WMA in southern NJ and found the impoundment there also rather full from the recent rains - shorebirds were roosting in tight-packed groups at the edge of the impoundment. The species there were mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers.