Species: Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

Number of Attempts to Find: ~3

Date of First Detection: May 13, 2008

Total Time of Observation: 15-20 minutes

Location: Heislerville WMA, Heislerville, NJ

Observers: David Mizrahi, David Tzul, Cesar Abrill

Summary: This small wader is a breeder on the tundra of Arctic Siberia, and winters mainly in Africa, as well as smaller numbers in Asia and Australasia. It is an accidental vagrant in North America, often accompanying Dunlin, or other small Calidris species such as Semipalmated Sandpiper. I have heard of this species being reported at several locations throughout the country, most notably in New Jersey, and in the Central Valley of California. Unfortunately, quite often when I was living near these places I was either not there at the time of year that they were present, or, I simply didn’t have the time, or could not find reported individuals. This means that while I have tried for this bird in the past, it was not necessarily a nemesis bird to the level that Laysan Albatross is (over 100 hrs of pelagic boat trip time with no sightings).

Just recently, while I was working at Thompson’s Beach in New Jersey on the Delaware Bay shore, there were a few reports of this brick-red shorebird coming from nearby Heislerville, which also turns out to be about 5 minutes from my house. After a few attempts of looking for this bird, it simply was not found. Either the tide levels were not right and the birds were feeding on distant mudflats, or the the Curlew Sandpiper was not present. The result was no confirmed sighting. However, just recently, after a long day of banding we decided to look for the Curlew Sandpiper after work; we had hopes, but they weren’t necessarily the highest.

Pulling up to a roosting flock of around 3,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, my housemates, and our supervisor (Dave Mizrahi) were taking in the spectacle when Dave asked us to see how many other species we could find in the flock. After about 30 seconds of looking he called out that there was a Curlew Sandpiper present, on the right side of the flock with its head tucked in as it roosted! After I scrambled for about 15 seconds, I finally found the bird, which was a lot harder to locate than one might expect. All of us, including my housemates got wonderful looks, and even when the flock took off I was able to follow the bird in flight and watch it land again for more viewing opportunities. We even managed to get some photos of the bird. All in all, it was a great experience, with a lot of excitement. Life birds don’t come often for me, so when they happen, they carry a lot of anticipation and emotion. Certainly a moment I’ll never forget!

What follows are some of the better photos that we managed while digiscoping through a hand held scope inside the van. They are not the best obviously, but should provide sufficient evidence of the sighting. Notice the brick red upperparts, as well as the long decurved bill which is present in just a single shot or two.