Searching for Whimbrels in Allegheny County in late May had become something of an obsession of mine over the past three or four years. I had even been resorting to listening for them on nocturnal migration, and staring at the open sky by daylight hoping for a brief glimpse of a migrating bird. This year was no exception. I had been spending the last week of May doing a very targeted search for Whimbrels: morning monitoring of the skies over Dashields Dam and Bald Knob, getting up at all hours to listen for them, looking up while walking between car and grocery store, etc.

 

So it was no accident that I was out at Bald Knob on the afternoon of 27 May, having already logged probably close to 24 hours of searching since 23rd. A brief but strong storm was passing through western Allegheny County following two solid days of south winds so I headed out to the pond, and as soon as the rain had subsided enough, I got out of the car and started scanning the grounds around the pond, specifically looking for a Whimbrel. And there it was.

 

Ironically, that jolt of electricity that comes from finding a rare bird is that much more jarring when you actually find exactly what you're looking for!