Along the Whitewater Park Blvd. side of Esther Simplot Park there is a storm
water runoff pond that at times is one long pond and at other times is a mud
flat. Today it is mudflats with some shallow water and Killdeer, Mallards
and C Geese and a Solitary Sandpiper. I first saw the bird on Wednesday, but
I was in a hurry and thought it was a Spotted Sandpiper (because that’s what
I was expecting). Then I started reviewing Sibley, iBird Pro and any other
sources and began to wonder if it was a Solitary, even though the map in
Sibley shows only scattered sightings. When I looked again yesterday, I only
saw a Spotted (at the other end of the mudflats), so I decided I’d made a
mistake.

But today I had the time to really observe the bird, finding the white
spotting on the back and white on the face. So of course I emailed Larry and
Missy to ask them to look at the bird. They just called to confirm it’s a
Solitary and I’m a happy camper!

If you go looking for it, the runoff area is currently surrounded by orange
mesh fencing (apparently because of high levels of e.coli). If you enter
from the traffic circle at Stewart and Whitewater, park in the first
available parking spot and walk towards the fencing. The bird has been at
the end of the mudflats closest to the traffic circle.

Tom McCabe, Boise