Shorebirds in late July following historic flooding

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 19, 2023

Least Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 21, 2023

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 21, 2023

Greater Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 21, 2023

Greater Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 21, 2023

Solitary Sandpiper, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 21, 2021

Killdeer, Least Sandpipers and Solitary Sandpiper, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 21, 2021

High water level mark on vegetation, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 21, 2021

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2023

Sunrise through the fog, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2023

Lesser Yellowlegs with Killdeer, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Jul 23, 2023

Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Jul 23, 2023

Least Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Jul 23, 2023

After returning home from our brief trip down south I made it out a bit on the last several mornings trying to catch up with a number of shorebirds that have arrived in the area following some record setting floods that occurred right before we left.  A number of unusual shorebirds showed up when we were gone (including multiple Short billed Dowitchers, a couple Sanderlings and a Whimbrel) plus more expected species.  It is unusual for the area to feature multiple locations with good shorebird habitat in later July but I suppose that is the silver lining from all the flooding.  The water levels continued to drop during the last few days but many muddy pools remained.  I was able to get out on the morning of the 19th after getting home the night before and found a number of shorebirds along Aqua Vitae Road with five species present with the most unusual being a Semipalmated Plover.  On my way to work on the 20th I stopped at Aqua Vitae Road again plus the Arcadia area and once again had five species of shorebirds.  Once I got out of work on Friday morning I first headed to the East Meadows where I found half a dozen species of shorebirds and then onto Aqua Vitae Road once again, which also featured a half dozen species.  A series of storms came through on Friday afternoon and evening courtesy of cold front.  I had hope for some good stuff coming in after the front but the fog made viewing tough and a stop in the East Meadows produced just three species of shorebird on Saturday morning.  After work on Sunday I made a few stops to check once again on the shorebirds and the most productive stop was my first at Arcadia where I had a half a dozen species of shorebirds with above normal counts for both Solitary Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs (as well as double digit counts of Killdeer and Least Sandpiper).  The spot looks prime to attract more stuff over the next several days.  The East Meadows had just Killdeer and Aqua Vitae Road had just three species.  Overall the last last few days have produced eight species of shorebird for me...not too bad for late July.