At first, I thought the little bird standing in the puddle was simply another reminder of how shallow the water has become. It was so small compared to the geese, herons, and mallards I am used to watching that it almost disappeared into the algae-covered shallows. Then it moved, and I realized I was looking at someone I had never noticed here before.
The little visitor appears to be a Solitary Sandpiper, a migrating shorebird that passes through Iowa as it travels south. Unlike the birds that gather around our feeders, this one did not come for anything we put out. The shallow water, exposed mud, and tiny creatures living there had already provided everything it needed.
There is something lovely about knowing that what looked to me like evidence of the puddle struggling had become an opportunity for somebody else. I have spent weeks watching the water disappear and measuring what has been lost, while this little traveler may have looked down from above and seen exactly the place it needed to stop.
I do not know whether I will see the Solitary Sandpiper tomorrow or whether this was simply one small stop during a much longer journey. Either way, for a little while in September, the puddle became part of its story too.
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