Lark Sparrow

I spotted a Lark Sparrow. It is a very rare bird.

Mega Rare Wood Sandpiper!

Wood Sandpiper 

October 15, 2012 

Marsh Meadows, Jamestown, RI 

We saw the dozens birders start running through the other side of the marsh so we 

knew by birder body language that they had seen the Wood Sandpiper! We were getting 

very frustrated because we could not find how to get through the marsh to the lifer- 

mega. We finally found a path through the phragmites marsh, putting many cuts and 

splinters into my bare feet, and got the bird!

I was sitting on my butt in the wet and spiky marsh grass (which is very uncomfortable 

in case you've never tried it) to keep my camera steady. I was shaking because this was 

the rarest bird that I have ever seen. It has only been seen 5 times in the lower 48 

states and this is the first New England record. It was a very beautiful sandpiper with its 

large black eyes it looked like a BBSA, but the eye stripe and yellowlegs made it look 

like a LEYE and the back and size made it look like a SOSA.

It was running back and forth across the shallow, mucky water. We saw it catch a small 

fish and it had to sit in the grass for a long time to digest it before it started running 

erratically around the mud again.