Once the weather cleared early Thursday morning, I went to Jordan Lake to go birding.
Was curious about the possibility of seeing unusual species taken off track by Hurricane Dorian.

Spent about 2 hours photographing usual (yet beautiful!) Bald Eagles, Ospreys and Egrets.
Lots of big birds everywhere!

Then got lucky and photographed what appeared to be Sanderlings searching for food along the shoreline.
Dressed in that lovely white/gray non-breeding plumage, they were quite a striking bird to see.

When I returned home, I opened up eBird to create a checklist.
Was surprised to see that the Sanderlings are placed under the “Rare” status for my local area for this time of year.
My bird ID skills are pretty darn good but far from perfect, lol!
The way I look at it is this, what is this bird most likely to be based on its form and environment?
The more I thought about it, the more I questioned my assumptions.
After all, Sanderlings are usually “beach birds” and there I was in the middle of the state.

But…a hurricane was still churning on the OBX, so maybe these birds veered off course placing them in front of me?
Plus, I’ve spent a few years living at the beach and there was a time when these were considered “local” birds to me. Familiar as a Robin or Blue Jay.

I think it’s important to get this kind of thing right.
So, I made sure to include photos and notes of the (assumed) sighting when submitting that checklist.
Right or wrong, I was keenly interested in learning more about what I saw.

A few hours later, I received an email from the crew at Cornell which verified my sighting of those Sanderlings.
Perhaps the hurricane put them in that spot (or not)?
Either way it was neat to see them! So cool 🙂

So glad I took the time to go exploring on a Thursday morning.