Lake Henshaw – Baird's, Solitary, & other weekend birds, 25–26 Aug, 2018

Apologies for the late reporting.

On Saturday August 25, 2018 I walked to the back of Lake Henshaw in search of shorebirds.  In the near, to highway, southeast corner a good collection of peeps with 200+ total flock mixed Western, Least, and Red-necked Phalaropes together.  In this flock also 10 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER preening and feeding.  About 1.5 hours later, in the north side of the lake I encountered another group of 5 Baird's Sandpiper. Unsure if birds had moved in the interim.

I hiked to the back of the lake, about 3.25 miles, and in the muddy cow muck and mire there, in addition to many curious cows, found two SOLITARY SANDPIPER loosely associating with one another.  I first heard them calling in distance, loud far carrying "peet-weet", and picked them up in fast high flight when they dropped into the back of the muddy area. Bold thick white eye rings, all dark upperparts in flight, greenish legs and base to bill.

Other shorebirds around the lake included one Long-billed Curlew, scarce here, three Long-billed Dowitcher flyby emitting "peek"calls, two Semipalmated Plover, and three Wilson's Snipe.  Also two Willow Flycatcher and a couple Purple Martin.

Some photos in eBird checklist here https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48099187

On Sunday August 26, 2018 I took a look around Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma in the early morning hours. Signs of migration happening but only ones and twos of expected species.  A calling male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, occasionally showing itself outside the plants, was nice in the plumeria/cape honeysuckle inside the admin house walled garden on the east side. And two White-breasted Nuthatch together in "the dip" easy to find by their "yeah, yeah" calling.

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