Conejohela Flats once again produced some good shorebirds for me. A previously reported Whimbrel was still hanging out on Avocet Point and was the first bird we saw. And right in front of it was a juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The thing I really love about some juvenile shorebirds is their complete lack of wariness around people. While I was taking pictures, it kept walking closer and closer until I couldn’t focus on it, only about 10 feet away.
A rare and irregular migrant in most of Pennsylvania, Buff-breasted Sandpipers are generally seen in fall, between the 3rd week in August and the 3rd week in September. These are mostly juveniles. Adults are much less common and pass through a few weeks earlier.
Occasionally the Buff-breasted Sandpiper would stretch up and look around, presumably alerted by something. Its normal behavior though was very active foraging, running around and probing for prey. At one point it pulled up a two inch worm and chowed down on that.
For a higher quality video, go to Youtube.
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[...] The Nemesis Bird has both photos and video of a juvenile buff-breasted sandpiper. [...]