January Shorebirds: Purple and Dunlin!

I took a trip down to Erieau today, as I hadn't been there for a few weeks. No one had posted anything of significance on eBird lately, but I thought it would be worth checking out considering there was still lots of open water, and a big storm was arriving tomorrow. If things turn out the way the weather forecasters are saying, travelling anywhere might not be a good idea for the next couple of days.

Turns out it was a good idea!

I had wondered about a Harlequin Duck showing up, as one or more had done so in past winters. But there was just the usual mix of Greater Scaup, all three merganser species, Mallard and Am Black Ducks. There weren't even many gulls, but some were on the pier that sticks out farthest in the lake, so I swung around to the little parking area closest to the base of the pier.

The gulls didn't look particularly noteworthy, but at the base of the pier on the beach was a shorebird. That definitely required a closer look, and my first inclination was a Purple Sandpiper. There have been very few Purple Sandpipers reported this past fall in Ontario on eBird: two to be exact, and nothing since late November. When I headed towards the base of the pier, the bird disappeared beyond the little hump of gravel, closer to the shoreline. When I got closer and it re-appeared, it wasn't a Purple Sandpiper after all. It was a Dunlin. Still considering the time of year, any shorebird is a good bird. As I got closer to get a photo, up popped another shorebird. It was the Purple Sandpiper!

Both birds were busily feeding at the edge of the surf, as well as in the gravel beach just a couple of metres from the wave action. It was heavily overcast, and not the ideal conditions for photography, but you take what you get. And what follows are a few of what I got.

With the winter storm forecast, it remains to be seen as to whether these two remain for any length of time, or maybe they just stopped in for a quick feed before getting beyond the storm's reach.