Every year, it seems, I am a bit nervous that this will be the last year of having any sightings in our area of Northeastern Illinois of the endangered long-distance migratory bird the Upland Sandpiper.
I must admit that this year was not any different than past years. I always have a concern that eventually conjures up a bit of anxiety that grows until a bird is actually sighted. On May 15 of this year, relief came as I had a pair flush along a rural road south of Kankakee. I have had sightings of multiple Upland Sandpipers in the general area almost once per week since this year’s first sighting in May.
Besides the chance encounters, the patience in observation, listening for their unusual calls, or scanning the fields with binoculars while the crops are small can often produce sightings if the birds are in fact in the area.
On Aug. 3, I had one fly, circle and land near where I had stopped my vehicle. The bird was certainly upset and scolding me as it landed and scurried across the roadway in front of my car before taking to the air again to circle my position.
The sandpiper then landed on a utility wire behind me for no longer than 5 seconds before flying again back and forth past me. The encounter, the observation, and a couple fast photos lasted less than 2 minutes and I quickly moved on so as not to stress the bird.
My opinion is that this looks very much like the behavior of the Killdeer, a common upland plover that we see in numbers here in Illinois, especially along rural gravel roads during the nesting season when they have young nearby.
The Killdeer uses distraction techniques to lead the intruder away from any chance of discovering their young that are staying low nearby. Perhaps this behavior is a telltale sign of a successful nesting season for the Upland Sandpiper, I can’t say for sure that this is what’s going on, but it does give me hope that there are young birds nearby and the adult bird is doing its best to draw the intruder away.
Hopes are that soon there will be a new generation of Upland Sandpipers heading south to the prairies of South America for the winter. This type of encounter with the Upland Sandpiper always seems to happen around this time every year from late-July through late-August when there should be young birds in the area.
In fact, I did get a glimpse at a flightless young bird being led away through rows of beans a few years back. When the adult bird circled me, it was being very vocal as it flew out into the field joining the young bird, moving away and disappearing in the sea of green.
