A couple of days after Will and I were at Noblewood and saw a Dunlin, local nature photographer Jeff Nadler went there and reported seeing a Sanderling. Apparently, someone thought it was pretty late for Sanderling or something, because Jeff posted this to a local listserv.

For those pointing out that it’s running a bit late for a Sanderling at
Noblewood, here a photo from this afternoon from the spit, that matches
a spangled juvenile.

http://www.jnphoto.net/sanderling.html

I can’t imagine a better picture of a Sanderling. Seriously. Check it out. You can see the individual grains of sand on its bill. Guess it’s not too late for Sanderling at Noblewood…

Postscript: I sent an email to Will on a hunch, asking if he had sent the email to Jeff. His reply?

I asked him if he got a picture, seemed late to me. And get a picture he did.

Mike Peterson [record-keeper for northern New York] said it’s a record late bird.

If Jeff hadn’t of gotten a picture would you have believed a Sanderling would be so late along Lake Champlain? And is the birding world too dependent on photos to determine records? Shouldn’t we all be taking notes?

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.