I checked the Regency Boulevard retention ponds in the mid-afternoon to see if the Ruddy Duck and the Semipalmated Sandpiper were still there. I quickly spotted the Ruddy Duck preening himself in the center of the north pond.
The Pied-billed Grebe also continued there.
I was coming up empty with the Semipalmated Sandpiper, only finding Killdeer along the shoreline. Then, a 'peep' sandpiper zipped out from around the corner and returned to the same area just out of sight. I only got a real quick look at it before it disappeared again, but it didn't look quite right for a 'Semi'. After about a half-hour of watching, the bird finally emerged from around the corner and I realized that it was actually a White-rumped Sandpiper! It eventually worked its way right below me on the near shore, allowing me to get my best-ever photos of a White-rumped. The diagnostic orange-reddish base to the lower mandible and the streaking along the sides under the wings can be easily seen on them.
A Killdeer scared it enough to fly a short distance to the left where I got a few more photos.
Soon after, it flew back to its original spot, showing off its white rump patch, and then walked around the corner out of sight.
On the way home, I stopped at Green Pond and found the Semipalmated Plover that had been reported there. I got a few mediocre photos of it in the flooded field area.
