Saturday, December 22, 2007, Heidi Trudell and Cole Wild found this Pectoral Sandpiper at Wastewater Treatment Plant. This is a very very late date for a Pectoral; and if you’re interested in what else they saw this cold and windy day, take a look at their Sightings!

Also, Mark Cranford from Midland reported a small flock of Red Crossbills in Buffalo Gap in pecan trees across the street from the Historic Village main gate. Lorie Black managed to get their photo on New Year’s Day (above). The last time we had crossbills in the Big Country was 1997 when a small flock of 17 was seen regularly at a NE Abilene resident from April through July (I’ll get those exact dates if anyone is interested).

Then on January 1, 2008, Cole Wild and Heidi Trudell stopped at Wastewater after work (anyone else work on New Year’s?) and found this Dunlin. Dunlins are very rare inland according to the TOS Handbook of Texas Birds. The bird on the right is a Least Sandpiper, to give you a size comparison and below is a closeup of the Dunlin. So congrats to them for spotting this cool sighting.

Thanks to all for reporting your sightings!