Little Big Econ SF (Brumley Rd Trailhead), 8/3/2015

Spotted Sandpipers on a Stroll Together

Yesterday morning I got up early and made it to the end of Brumley Rd at the ungodly hour of 6am. It was still dark out, and I was not looking forward to the 3 mile walk out to the St. Johns River, but it just had to be done, and I had to leave this early if I wanted to be back in time for work.  I walked 8 miles and took a slightly different route than I've done in the past. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off My Maps when I got in my car, so the map below also shows me driving down Brumley Rd for a little ways:


There have been so many good shorebirds seen at Lake Apopka over the last week or so that I was hoping they would share some of their wealth with me at what may be the best shorebird spot in Seminole county (it's only competition is Marl Bed Flats, but that appears to be dried up at the moment).

Black-necked Stilt Alarm Call

My morning wouldn't have competed with Lake Apopka, but it was still an enjoyable morning.  I saw 10 Pectoral Sandpipers fly past me headed south.  They were not very polite--they just flew right by and didn't stop to say hi or pose for a picture.  There were also many yellowlegs (both greater and lesser), Black-necked Stilts are still defending their young, and there were two Spotted Sandpipers hanging out along the shore of the Econ River.

Pectoral Sandpipers Being Rude

I added three new birds to the eBird hotspot: Pectoral Sandpiper, Bank Swallow and a singing Blue Grosbeak. The Blue Grosbeak was surprising. I have walked by that area many times, and I'd never heard or seen it before.  My guess is that it's a migrant, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he was breeding in the area and just happened to venture into ear-shot of me yesterday.  Anyway, here's my eBird checklist. If you happen to be interested in checking this place out, I highly recommend it (though give yourself about 4 hours if you can.  You can see my trail guide for further information.

Spotted Sandpiper Again