Whimbrel over St Mary Church, Littleton, Arapahoe Co

[David Suddjian]

This afternoon I heard a Greater Yellowlegs call three times as it was flying north over St Mary Church along S Prince St in Littleton. This was fun, as I had recorded only three other shorebirds from the St. Mary area during 7.5 years of watching its big sky view, but Greater Yellowlegs is one of the more likely species to have flying over. I searched for it as it flew over but could not see it against the thin clouds and patchy blue sky. And yet, as I searched, and the yellowlegs had just passed over, I heard the loud call of a Whimbrel (!) approaching from the south, and it gave a few of its series calls, and I could spot this one as it passed by heading north, as it was flying a little lower than the yellowlegs and was bigger and darker. 

The only shorebirds I had recorded previously from the St. Mary area were Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe and similarly migrating Long-billed Curlew.

That nice Whimbrel helped me mark and enjoy a nice eBirding milestone that I passed today. The Whimbrel was on my 40,001st complete checklist for Colorado. A fun way to move forward!

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO