next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
Thanks Richard, nicely done. I suspect the case is closed. I might have mentioned yesterday that at that same location I witnessed my first Peregrine Falcon attack of this season. There were 300 Semipalmated Sandpipers, which I was studying one by one, but they all left in a very tight ball & they did not reappear on that high tide. Rick. On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:24 AM, Richard Stern <sternrichard@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Rick, > > As I haven't seen any other reply, I'll have a go, and at the same time go > through the process, which might be more educational to people than a one > word answer. So with Dowitchers, no question that there all kinds of ID > difficulties, but if you work through it methodically (and the photos really > help) you can usually come to a conclusion ...... > > The bird has a relatively flat back, very little rusty color on the > underparts, doesn't really have barred sides of the breast, and more > importantly is in salt water habitat in July (as against brackish, marshy > habitat in November) so the odds are 99.9% that it's a Short-billed, not a > long billed (don't rely on bill length - it's irrelevant, and the birds are > poorly named for field ID purposes). > > Then, as with any difficult shorebird, try and decide whether it's in adult > breeding, winter, or juvenile plumage. This bird is in worn adult plumage, > with an irregular, worn and "dirty" look to the uppersides. If the bird were > in juvenile plumage, that would make it easier to distinguish from juv. > Long-billed. However, it does make it easier to distinguish the 3 races of > Short-billed. Most of S-B Dowitchers in NS would be griseus, which has > relatively little rusty on the breast, and which this bird looks to me like > it fits perfectly. The more central race, hendersoni, looks like a > Long-billed, and the westerly race, which migrates down the W. coast, also > looks more like a long-billed. I suspect that in true juv. or adult winter > plumage, however, the 3 races would be pretty indistinguishable in the > field. > > So for these reasons I believe the bird in the photos is a worn adult > breeding-plumaged Limnodromus griseus griseus, which would likely comprise > the vast majority of all the dowitchers in NS in July. A side-on picture in > flat lighting to really illustrate the pattern of spotting and barring, and > the extent of rusty on the breast/ belly, would be better however for this > purpose. > > I should add that years ago in July 2 dowitchers landed on the bridge of a > whale-watching boat in thick fog off Brier Island. I was very struck by the > extent of bright rusty on the underparts, but that they didn't have the > dense breast barring of Long-billed. So I wondered if they were hendersoni > Short-billed, and indeed that was confirmed when people far more > knowledgeable than I saw the pictures. > > Now the challenge ........ Someone please tell me if I'm wrong!! > > Richard > > On Sat, Jul 21, 2012 at 6:35 PM, Rick Whitman > <dendroica.caerulescens@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> I got some pretty definitive photos of one Short-billed Dowitcher >> today, on the point S of East Point at N. Grand Pre. A series of four >> starts at the direct link. >> >> >> http://rickwhitman.smugmug.com/Nature/Shorebirds/22686725_mPvQtv#!i=1978968974&k=5rZSPtj >> >> I'm hoping that Susann Myers or anyone can give me the race ID from these. >> >> Rick Whitman >
next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects