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Hi All, After almost 30 years of sorting through peeps in hopes of finding a stint, my efforts have finally paid off. Or as Don MacNeill might put it, after a very long STINT of birding and many RED NECKS I am finally SHORE I have gotten a PEEP at one. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that is was not a breeding plumage adult, and as Sibley states on page 188 “Only breeding adults are readily identified, identification of other plumages requires careful study.”
So, I will include a brief description of what we saw below and people can decide for themselves if they wish to pursue the bird.
With that said, I can think of two advantages of going after this sandpiper.
1. it was very friendly, allowing a good long look and close approach to within 20 feet/naked eye viewing range.
2. It was almost within spitting distance of a very easy to identify adult non-breeding Curlew Sandpiper.
The Curlew Sandpiper was feeding on the sand bar at the bridge on the Dyke Road in Grand Desert, and was spooked by a Northern Harrier and flew out the channel towards barrier beach and the fenced off DND site.
This DND site can be easily entered by scrambling over a few boulders at the left hand end of the fence and walking along the shoreline. It was less than a 100 meters from these boulders that we encountered the stint.
It was with a flock of about 20 Least Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, about a dozen Semipalmated Plovers and a couple of Sanderlings. On the way out onto the beach we may have walked right by the stint as we skirted this group, so not to put them up. On the way back to the vehicle, the same group, blended in and it was not until heads popped up and a few began to shuffle about, that we noticed them.
At that point, even to the naked eye, the rufus colored stint stood out from the rest.
Above, the rufus coloration was strongest on its scapulars but there was also rufus on the mantle. Causing it to superficially resemble a Western Sandpiper. However the rest of the bird was all wrong for Western.
Size wise it was a larger than the Least Sandpipers but clearly not larger than the Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Its bill was noticeably thinner that the Semipalmated and very straight, lacking any droop at the tip.
Its cap was dark with some rufus.
A fainter buffy wash came down over the breast from its back but the sides of its face were grayer. Inside the buffy area there were faint diffused streaks but the rest of the underparts were unmarked.
It’s had a well marked, white supercilium, white throat, and a belly that was whiter than white, -“Tide White” making the white bellies on the Least Sandpipers look off white or dirty in comparison.
The legs & feet were black and the toes appeared to lack any webbing even at very close inspection, however webbing can be hard to see.
One of the most impressive things about this bird was its behavior when it started to run around and feed. It was amazing how fast it moved, it dashed about so quickly its legs were almost a blur.
Dad and I saw the bird on Thursday near high tide around 5pm. Both Mike King and I plan to try for some pics and will make another post if we can relocate the bird. For those that may not know the Dyke Road in Grand Desert, it is quite close to the Shore Road in West Chezzettcook. The dyke road runs along a seaward section of the West Chezzettcook Marsh while the Shore Road runs along a more landward portion of the West Chezzettcook Marsh. This area can be reached via Hwy 107 Exit 20 or via the coastal route of Hwy 207. The 107 is faster from most locals but the birding is way better along the 207 so the choice is yours. - cheers, Clarence
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