[Maine-birds] Drama between Spotted Sandpiper and Merlin - Mt. Desert Island

Hi all - Here's the paragraph I entered into eBird this morning to accompany a productive bird walk on the s. end of the Cape Road on MDI (hotspot - Seal Cove).

Link to the full list in eBird is here, with poor documentary photos included.

Cheers,

Craig K, Southwest Harbor

I was already in my car after this walk, with my side window facing the water, when two birds flew into view, near to the shore and low. Maybe 30' at the most from me. The first bird was a sandpiper, but it hit the water and dove immediately. The second bird was a Merlin who hovered briefly then flew away. The sandpiper stayed underwater and out of sight for multiple seconds before it emerged at the surface. Before I got my bins on the bird my impression was, "this bird floats like a phalarope." But in bins, the bird was clearly a SPSA who had barely escaped with its life. It sat afloat for longer than I would have thought feasible for a non-swimming sandpiper, then burst into a short flight to the shore. It was resting and motionless on a shoreline rock when I left. Wow. Poor photos attached.

--
Maine birds mailing list
maine-birds@googlegroups.com
http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/CAFnYGSAY%2B4e%3DScD%2BtsV-8tZ%3DkKTj0Y9gNvhR3xnXrQWPT4aazg%40mail.gmail.com.