June 18, 2018 – An Upland sandpiper, a bird that spends the winter as far south as Argentina and Uruguay, walks through the new growth of soybeans in a field in Iroquois county recently, the same field where five were spotted the day before. The Upland sandpiper is endangered in Illinois and increasingly rare to even see. An encouraging study that was done in two counties in Central Illinois in 2014 by a team from the University of Illinois has indicated apparent adaptations for a number of grassland species including the Upland sandpiper. The Upland sandpipers are using no-till soybean fields as nesting sites according to wildlife biologist Kelly R. VanBeek who coordinated the 2014 study.
This is the forth year that I have photographed Upland sandpipers that are using an area in Iroquois county for nesting. Last year I observed a chick with an adult and that event was the exciting confirmation that they were indeed nesting there with some success. With the cooperation of the land owners and farmers we have an opportunity to get a better understanding of why it seems to be working for the Upland sandpipers at this location and possibly encourage some management ideas that can help increase their odds for success. Some simple things like a moratorium on roadside mowing, the spraying of dangerous chemicals or even closing nonessential roads during the nesting season could go a long way towards that goal. With common sense actions and a greater understanding we may find that with just some small tweaks in our behavior we could have a huge positive impact on the struggling Upland sandpiper, a species that needs our prompt focus.