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More Gull Class Notes

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Here are some additional notes from the 2010-2011 Fall/Winter class on Gulls:

First here is a link to four tables.  One will help you group gulls by bill shape and behavior, i.e. Tern-like gulls, and Typical Gulls.  The next groups North American gulls by their first cycle molt strategy. The next  compares the mantle and wing gray-scale on the Kodak scale, for comparison.   Finally a memorization table Ryan put together to facilitate learning the plumage details of the possible WA gulls.  Students will do themeselves well by downloading and printing these for study.

The rest are some notes from the class.

Herrmann’s gulls will chase other gulls like a Jaeger, and young birds can even have a white flash in wing.

Parasitic Jaegers come thru the Puget Sound in the fall.  Point-no-point is a good place in the fall.

Gonydeal angle is the jutting part of the bottom of the bill.

The orbital ring is around the eye, is dried skin, and is affected by hormones.  Brighter in breeding plumage.

Glaucous-winged x Western gull:  aka Olympic or Puget Sound gull.  This is what makes gull watching in WA interesting.  Maybe up to 75% hybrids in some colonies.  Most birds from along the coast and in Strait of Juan de Fuca tend to Western.     In birds that tend to Western Look for smudgy head in basic plumage,  for too light a back for mixed orbital ring color, for dark but not black wing tips.    If it tends to GW, look for too bright a bill, or too dark a wing tip, or too dark a back.     IN juvenile tend to be murky colored overall, not a crisply contrasty as in Western.

Molt of a Western Gull:  timing:  born May or June in Juvenile plumage, strongly variegated, with noticible barring on upper tail coverts, black bill, blackish tail.  Starts PA1 molt in August and cont thru October, changing out the head and some of the scapula.  Suspends in midwinter and starts againin Feb, finishes in May.  So thru first winter brown, dark bill, highly variegated, and does not change much until March.  PB 2 molt starts in April thru September.  So thru the first year only not in molt about 3-4 months.   PB 2 plumage has pink base on black bill, but otherwise looks like a juvenile, brownish.   PA2  from mid Aug, to Oct, suspended thru winter, then Feb – May.  molt into pale base on the bill, so by second spring will have dark backs, clear heads, but coverts look juvenile.  PB3 molt from April – Oct.  Basic 3 is adult-like.  Very small differences, maybe black on tail, maybe black primary tips, maybe black on distal bill, PA3 is from August 20- duration hard to ascertain.  PB4 molt from Mid may to June thru Nov.  Adult-like after  PB 4.

Black-tailed Gull:   a primitive white=headed gull.  Asiatic,  3 WA records.  All adults.  4 cycle gull.  Kodak 8-9.5.  Long primary projection.  Lack mirrors in the wingtip.   (ie no white area with black both proximal and distal)    Black band on tail sub-terminally in adult.  Long bill, eye arcs,   Very slight gonydeal angle.   California gull similar color, not quite as dark.  Dusky hood, almost comes around the neck.

Ivory Gull:  Medium sized.  No PA molt.   White all year round, mew gull sized, young bird black faced.  One WA record.  Simple basic, one molt a year.

Gulls bills, lower bill has two plates, fused together at the gonydeal angle.  This allows them to widen and swallow big things.

Little gull:  complex alternate.  Like a little Boneparte’s Gull.  100 WA records thru 2000.  Almost all from the Puget sound area.  Almost always on fresh water, with Bonepartes.  Large lakes.  Sept and Oct are the best months.  A few spring records, mid March thru mid june.  Few winter records.  Average 2/ year.   B y sept have gone into first winter plumage.  11” smallest gull in the world.  Adult has blackish underwings. Dark bill, dark auricular patch.    Juveniles may not have dark underwings.   In Juveniles much darker upperwing markings.    Kodak 4.5-5.5

Boneparte’s is a masked gull, not a hooded gull, cap only comes to the mid-nape.   Stay thru mid-winter.   Go farther south.   First winter has carpal marks, black terminal tail.  Big field mark is the white leading upper wing edge triangle.  Kodak  5-6.  Rare to uncommon in E WA.   Cyclic, some years more, some less.

Black-headed gull:  >15 records, most in fall.   Kodak   4-5.   Lighter backed than Boneparte’s, pinkish legs, bill is pinkish to red, slightly larger than Boneparte’s, twin lines on top of head, dark under-wing primaries.

Franklin’s Gull:  a hooded (not masked) gull, hood in breeding plumage comes way down on the neck.   Seen 5-20 times annually in W WA, most in the fall, June-Nov.   Often up ot a 350 kilometer from the breeding sight.  Only a few spring records in W WA.  Since 2000 44 E WA reports, most May- Early- June.   Maybe expanding breeding range.  Breed at Mal Huer.   Possible to see a Sept bird with some juvenile plumage, but most of our birds are first winter.  Smaller bill, more complete hood, and outer two retrices of the tail lack black of the tail band (vs. Laughing has full black tail band in first winter bird.)  Rounded head.  Mirror in P10, and white between the gray of the wings and the black of the wing tip.

Laughing Gull:  3 WA sightings, probably moved north with Heermann’s gulls in the fall, one spring sighting.  Kodak 8-9.  Larger bill, longer bill, slight droop in the bill.  Hood smaller than Franklin’s.  Duskier breast and flanks than Franklin’s in most plumages.   Head shape is a longer forehead, not as rounded as Franklins,  one of the few gulls with two complete molts, because it is such a long distance migrants.  The PA molt can be incomplete.    Birds always molt, they can skip breeding, but always molt.   Juvenile plumage is a basic plumage.

Mew Gull:   3 types of Mew Gulls, the Mew Gull, the European Mew Gull, and the Kamchatkna Gull.  (breeds in Siberia, visits W. AK, no WA records)  3-4 year gulls, small bill, no red spot in bill.  Usually first PA 1 molt produces a gray back.    Complex alternate strategy (small gull)  Smaller than Ringed-bill gull.  Adult has yellowish feet, unmarked bill in adult, Kodak 6-7.5.  1st winter, gray back, bi-colored bill, pink legs.  Slowly in the second year the pinkish legs become yellowish.   As with all gulls, there is wide difference in plumage color, i.e. some darker, some lighter, esp. in juveniles.    Wingtip has two mirrors, 9 & 10 and extensive tongue tips in P6-8.    Second winter is adult-like with some distal dark on the bill and less white in the wingtips.   Therefore less black/white checking in the perched bird wingtips.   Common gull is a little lighter, Kamchatka is intermediate coloration, larger and bulkier.  Mew is darker.

Ring-billed Gull:  Lighter in all plumages than CA gull.  Complex alternate.  First winter carpal mark, dark tail tip.  Second winter has dark bill tip.  Very pale mantle and scapulars.  Kodak 4-5.  Adult mirro in 9-10, no tongue tip.  Narrow wings.   Red orbitral ring, pale eye, red gape in breeding birds.

California Gull:  larger than Ring-billed.   First year plumage mimics second year plumage of a Herring Gull.   Kodak  5-7.5.  C Ommon to abundant in winter off the coast of WA.  At least 100,000 California gulls in the fall in WA.   In E WA uncommon to locally common in winter, do breed in E WA.   Both first and second cycles more  heavily marked than the book suggests.   In subadults the bill can have a bluish cast.   Formative plumage has no gray in the back.  Dark eye.   Adult with red and black spot in the bill.  Bill long and parallel edged, with a slight Gonydeal angle.

Small white headed gulls vs. Large white headed gulls.

Primaries 1-6, i.e inner primaries.  If these feathers are brownish they are 1-2nd year birds.  If they are grayish they are 3-4th year birds.

Herring Gull: Kodak 4-5 i.e very pale.  Uncommon to locally common W WA, fairly common to common in E WA.  Split from Thayers in 1972.  Mostly at coast and off shore and Straits of Juan de Fuca.  ( so around here not many seen)   More often on fresh water.  on the East Coast two mirrors, West Coast usually a  mirror only on P9, in spring some have yellow legs,  and the eye turns yellow in the second cycle.  Some can have flecking in the iris.  Juveniles tgher are basically two plumages, first 2 years look like a juvenile, then the 3rd year plus look like adults.   Note pale inner primaries in first and second winter birds.  Bill is large with a fairly large Gonydeal angle, looks fierce.  Flat head, long forehead, often a bump at the back.   Adult winter,  discrete streaking on the neck,  wing tip black from below vs. Thayers is light from below.     Vega  type Herring gull, no WA records.

 

Thayer’s Gull:  Inland marine waters, to the Straits, also NW WA, Rare in E WA.   In subadult the whole underwing is pale.  In adults the underside of the wingtip is light.   Neck in winter has indistinct streaking.  Orbital purple red, dark eye.  Upperwing has large windows and several tongue tips, making the wing tip whiter overall.

Thayers- Iceland- and Kumliens are all very closely related.   All small bill, pale eye,

Iceland Gull:  8 records thru 2000.  4 E, 4 W WA.   Always pale wing tips, long primary projection.   Tail falls at P6-7.  (vs Glaucous gull with shorter primary projection)

Kumlien’s Gull, no WA records.  Intermediate between Thayer’s and Iceland.

Glaucous Gull:  big gull, long sloping forehead, fierce looking.   Rare to locally uncommon migrant and winter visitor.  Annually about 8 W WA, and 4 E WA.   Occationally small groups in migration.  Almost all seen are first or second year birds.  Moderate Gonydeal expansion.  Relatively parallel bill.   Pale wing tips, not really grayish.  Bill is bicolored, sharply defined.

Glaucous-winged Gull:   Bill si stout, slightly bulbous at the tip (less bulbous shorter Western Gull bill)  Kodak 5-6.  Wing tips Kodak 6-8.  First year bill dark with some pink at the base, second year more pink at the base, eye usually dark occasionally to pale.   Remember we see mostly juveniles and adults.  Fewer other plumages.  Long sloping forehead.    Second winter they get the gray back.  Pinkish orbital, pinkish gape, dark eye.   Juvenile all brownish.

Slaty-backed Gull:   all birds identified have been adults.  Kodak 9.5-11.5, bill stout medium length, parallel with out much Gonydeal expansion.  Very distinct tongue tips in P 6-8.  P10 always a mirror, P9 sometimes a mirror.  Bubble-gum pink legs.    Look like a darker Western gull, black wing tips,  They have a wide skirt, i.e  the edge of the secondaries edged in white.  Seen with the wings folded.   Streaking on the neck, duskiness on the head, (mascara line)  vs. Western gulls with clear white heads.   Clear eye.

Western Gull:  Kodak 8-11, ours are 8-9.5.  The further you go south the blacker the back.  Variegated plumage in the juveniles.  Flat on top head, sloping forehead.  Strong black tail, strong secondary bar.  Third year has no windows on the wingtips.  There are indistinct tongue tips in the sub terminal primaries (6-8)   Bill is shorter than GW, stouter, wider, more bulbous at the tip.   More coastal and on straits,  GW is more inland and to the north.

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3 records.  Kodak 9-13.   Streaked flanks on young birds.  Adults have yellow legs.  Light eye, long bill, slight Gonydeal angle.     In the east coast a white headed dark backed bull is Greater, a dirty headed black backed is Lesser.

Greater Black-backed:  1 WA record.  One other record west of the continental divide.  Massive bill, the largest gull.  Pink legs.

Heermann’s Gull:  4 cycle gull.  Comes north in post breeding dispersal.   June- Nov mostly in WA, mostly on the coast, some on straits, occasionally in the sound.  All dark gull.  Nothing else like it in our area.   Most of the birds seen in WA have the darker head by the time we see them, but in June-July should have white head.

Continuation of Gull notes from the next Birding class 11-24-09

Ross’s Gull: Complex alternate, Kodak 3.5-4.5, 2-3 year cycle, very small.  Just b arely larger that Boneparte’s  Gull, twice in WA, Adult 1994 E side, 2008 Feb in Tri Cities area.  19 times in the US, 3x in NW, 16 times in NE USA thru 2000.  Stubby short,  some have pinkish tinge is felt to be dietary.  Dark collar is unique in breeding plumage.

Sabine’s  Gull:  pelagic gull, fork tailed.  Tri-colored upper wing, white triangle on trailing edge, Kodak 7-9, a complete pre-formative molt, and incomplete pre-alternate molt, variable depends on feed supply, very rare in E. WA.   Juveniles migrate south prior to molt, so early in season could see brownish individual.  First winter usually not seen in N. America.  First summer partial hood, with dark bill, only adults have yellow tip on bill.  Fall and spring seen off WA coast.  Small, dainty.

Kittiwakes are 3 cycle gulls, go thru first winter in juvenile plumage.

Black-legged Kittiwake:   Note first summer bird has black tip.  Adult with all yellow bill, and completely black wing tips.  Fairly common off shore as a migrant.  Irregular in winter.  Rare to irregular inland.  Rare in E WA.  Kodak 6.5-8.  Pre-alternate molt is variable.  Deep wingbeat, buoyant, lots of up and down flying.

Red-legged Kittiwake:  8.5-9.5 Kodak, very rare off-shore migrant, declining in numbers, 6 recent records in WA, more sightings recently off shore on pelagic trips.  Darker backed, very short stubby bill, note dark undedrwing.  Narrow wings.

Fall 2010 Class #5 Geese thru Herons

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Class #5: Nov. 9, 2010 Fall Class Notes:

I took the end of last weeks notes and put here to make easier study.  Skipped to here at the end of shorebirds.  Now to the earliest taxonomic species in the relatively new AOU checklist

Geese & Swans are CBS.  Possibly some CAS.  Think of young CA goose, yellow juvenile, then molt quickly with formative feathers to resemble adults.

Greater-white fronted goose:  speckled belly, Adult pink bill, orange bill. . Typical gray goose, like European goose, Young birds lack light face around the bill.

Emperor Goose:  uncommon, mostly in spring, occasional in fall, mostly on the coast, small bluish plumage. Small bill.

Snow Goose:  Black grin mark, black pirmaries.  Large bill, larger bill than Ross’s goose.  Most of our Snow geese breed on Rangle Island.

Ross’s goose:  smaller knobby bill, rounder head.

Cackling Goose:  four races of cackling goose, one on E coast, New Mexico to Louisians, Hutchinsoni, aka Richardsons goose.  We have Taverners, Minima, and Leukopoira (Aleutian Goose)  White collar on Aleutian goose.  Minima is dark breasted.  Taverners is mid dark breast.  Richardson’s is light bellied.

Canada Goose:  Moffett’s is our year round goose.  Large.  Dusky (Oxidentalis) medium sized dark bellied.  Fulva is medium sized dark bellied.  Subspecies are difficult at times.  Look for small bill and small size for cackling.

There is a gap here- I was late to class and missed about 10 minutes.

Ring-necked pheasant:  long tail, open areas, light around the eye in female

Ruffed Grouse:  Sea level to 3500’ more lowlands in winter, red and gray types.  Crest, barred below, gray tail tip band, black sub-terminal band.

Greater Sage Grouse:  About 1000 in WA.  Threatened in WA.  Not hunted.  Males much larger.  CAS.  Leks.  In winter in sage brush.

Spruce Grouse:  we have Franklin’s type, white in the coverts.  High elevation, >4000 feet.  Small grouse.  460 grams.  (Blue 1050 grams)  Shorter tail.  Females small, small head, small bill.  More bright white underneath.  N Cascades.  A few in Salmo Mtn. area.  A few in Yakima County in Autanum area, and some near Mt. St. Helens.

White-tailed ptarmigan:  in winter out of reach.  Paradise and Sunrise good spots.  Supplemental molts have been recorded.

Dusky Grouse:  lighter than Sooty, softer call, hear 200’, mostly E WA.  2500-4000’  They do move up to 50 miles sometimes from season to season.  Big birds, bigger bills.  Maybe a hybrid zone near the crest.

Sooty Grouse:  females more brownish, band on tail. W of Cascade Crest.  Evergreens.  Loud voice, heard long distances.  If they flush to a tree, can go high in the tree.

Sharp-tailed grouse:  About 600 in WA.  Grassland indicator species, bunch grass and Idaho fescue.  Pointed tail with white outer tail feathers, chevrons ventrally.  In winter feed on water birch.  (reddish branch, grows near creeks)

Wild Turkey:  really much more common in the last 15 years.  It seems that planting different types in their habitat worked.

Red-throated Loon:  Loons have short necks, Red Throated is small, nice demarcation on black/white on neck, grayish on the back, uptilted bill, 15 degrees, SAS, Juvenile duskier head, more pale on back.  First year PA 1 is intermediate between adult and juvenile.  Red-throated loon has a complete molt in the fall.

Large Loons have a PA molt in about Feb- March.  Then have PB molt of wing feathers only in about March-April.  Then finish the PB molt in the fall.  Maybe do this to have good new wing feathers used to protect the nest, and no time after young raised

Loons in flight:  RT Loon holds head lower, narrow short wings, often pointed back.  Quick wing beat, take off directly from the water:

 

Arctic Loon:  More easterly, more white on the flank on the water rises up near the rump, wide dark on back of neck, straight dagger like bill, blackish on the back.

Pacific Loon:  Dark back of neck and head, chin strap.  Rounded head, steep forehead.   Hunt in lines, can see large groups.  In flight: Broader wing, carry head out straight, wings straight out, migrate in groups.  Often hard to find.

Common Loon:  Dark dagger like bill.  Some paleness gray, but never ivory.  Black on back, paleness around the eye, bump on forehead.  White notch/ necklace noticible in flight.  Large feet can be held sideways.  SAS.

Yellow-billed Loon: upturned bill, more brownish and lighter on back.  Pale ivory bill in basic plumage.  Often a double bump on head.

Grebes:  CAS, East – West migrators.

Pied-billed grebe:  little white rump.  Fresh water breeders.   Year round.  Synchronous wing molt in the fall.

Horned Grebe:  red neck in alt. plumage.  Clean white neck, white cheek patch, angular head, moderate slope to the bill. Nice sharp demarcation from cap to face.

Red-necked grebe:  In winter dirty neck, whitish cheek patch, larger bill is often two toned, mostly salt water, some fresh water.

Eared Grebe:  Size of horned grebe, rides higher in the water, dirty neck, puffy crown, steep forehead, dark on the crown diffuses into the white of the face.  Bill is deeper than it is wide.

Western Grebe:  greenish bill, black below the eye.  Reddish eye.  Long thin neck.

Clark’s Grebe:  Orange bill.  Western and Clark’s do hybridize.  Salton Sea mostly Clark’s grebe.  Thinner black stripe on back of the neck.

Albatrosses:  SAS  Some may not acquire adult plumage until 15-20 years old.  May live 50-60 years.  Don’t typically breed until 12 years old.

Shy Albatross: 2 records.

Laysan Albatross:  Mostly fall, spotty in summer,  Light bellied – dark backed.  Dusky pink bill.

Black-footed albatross:  Out common albatross.  Brownish overall, dark bird, older birds more white at the base of the bill.

Short-tailed albatross:  young bird dark with pink bill.

Northern Fulmar:  bull necked appearance, tube nose, 3 morphs.  Most of ours dark or intermediate.  Fly over the waves like a shearwater, shallow wing beats.  Flash of white in the primaries.  The tube nose can be for salt excretion.  May also expel oils.

Murphy’s Petrel:  few records, a gadfly petrel, seen far off coast, spring, larger petrel, more arching flight.

Mottled Petrel:  few records, (similar to Cooks) dark carpal marking, dark belly.  Plain gray back.  Smaller gadfly.

Shearwaters:  SBS.  Often don’t nest until 5 years old.

Pink-footed Shearwater:  second most numerous shearwater, white belly, pinkish bill, pink legs, same size as flesh footed shearwater.

Flesh-footed shearwater:  all dark, pink bill, fleshy colored legs, may find a very few on  a trip.  Lacks white flash of sooty.

Buller’s Shearwater: fall bird here.  Smaller, slimmer, white below, dark “M” on the upper wing.

Sooty Shearwater:  dark bird, white flash on the underwing coverts. By far the most numerous. Breed in S Pacific.

Short-tailed shearwater:  Small bill, variable but usually darker coverts, smaller than sooty.  More tame, approach the boat more, tends to come into the Puget sound Nov- Jan.  More common in the Puget Sound in that time frame than Sooty.

Manx Shearwater:  about annual.  Can be close in at times. Smaller than sooty  Light bellied.  White  vent.

Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel:  light with white carpal markings.  Direct flyers.  Feed closer to shore than Leeches.

Leech’s Storm-Petrel:  Narrow pointed wings, dark bird.  50K breed in WA, feed far off-shore.  More eratic flight, like a nighthawk.

Red-tailed tropicbird: one record.  CBS

Magnificent Frigatebird:  3 WA records.  SBS.

Stepwise Molt

Some larger birds have stepwise wing molt.  Too many feathers to molt in one year.  The first wing molt wave can start as early as 5 months old in Osprey, for Golden Eagles about 9 months.  Then every 10-11 molts may molt a wave or wing feathers.  Two types of stepwise wing molt.  AKA stoffelmouser.  Typically in the first wave they lose 3-6 feathers.  Maybe P1-3 or P1-6 and a few secondaries.  Then in second wave will start where it left off, and may go say P7-P10 and maybe P1-2.  This is typically in large birds, that weight more than 1Kg.  Some are obligate stepwise molt.  Others are opportunistic stepwise molts, i.e. may halt molt part way through if lack of food.

Cormorants:  do stepwise molt.  Obligate.  SAS. 

Brandt’s Cormorant:  in winter has buff at the base of the bill and chin.  Blue in breeding season.  Bigger head and thicker neck than Pelagic.  Stand more upright than pelagics.  In flight broader wing, steadier wing beat with heavy loading. More marine.  Fly in V, chevron, or line, also stack vertically.  Fly together with Pelagics.

Pelagic Cormorant:  narrower shorter wings, so quicker wingbeat. Hold wings straight out, smaller neck and head.  Flank patch in alt. plumage.  Reddish chin, tend to fly in a line.

Double-crested Cormorant:  bright orange bill, thick neck with kink, young birds brownish back, whitish chest.

Pelicans:  SAS. 

American White Pelican:  summer and migrants in E WA, more rare in W WA.

Brown Pelican:  Adult white neck and head, young with brown neck and head.  Fall birds, post breeding dispersal.

Herons:  CBS, some possibly CAS.

American Bittern:  most leave in winter, greenish legs.

GBH: our common heron

Great Egret:  come up the coast in the fall, greenish legs, orange bill. Large size.

Snowy Egret:  25 records, rare in WA.  Yellow between the bill and the eye, golden slippers

Little Blue Heron:  First year birds are white.  Vagrants.  Same size as a snowy egret.  Immatures of both birds hard to tell apart, both have greenish legs, bill at base is more grayish green with Snowy more yellowish green.

Cattle Egrets:  340 records, cyclic.  Light legs, orange bill, rounded head, often around live stock, Fall mostly Aug – Dec,

Green Heron:  mostly fresh or brackish water, a few linger into Dec-Jan until it’s really cold.  Good CBC bird.

Black-crowned Night-Heron:  Juvenile looks a lot like a bittern, white spotting on coverts and scapulars.  Head shape different.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron:  2-3 records.

White-faced Ibis:  uncommon in WA, more sightings in recent years.  Breeding bird has white around the eye red eye.  SAS.

Fall 2010 Class #4 Notes: Finishing Shorebird ID, More on Molt

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Class #4 10-26-2010 

Review of Molt Strategies- Finish shorebirds.

Knowing what plumage a bird is in is a key in shorebird ID.  Know how to differentiate juvenile, formative, basic and alternate plumages.  To be an advanced shorebirder you need to know when the molts into these plumages happen for the various species.

White-rumped Sandpiper:  rare here, larger than Westerns, black legs, shorter bill than western, white eye stripe, long and attenuated, look for long primary projection.

Baird’s Sandpiper:  uncommon in fall, rare in spring.  Montaine migrant.  Up to 6000 feet.  Small flocks, thin black pointed bills.  Attenuated, above black centered feathers fringed with gray and wings so long they can be crossed, S. Hemisphere strategy, very long distance migrants.  i.e. don’t molt wing feathers in the US.  Complete formative molt.  Best to see in August to first week of Sept, look in salicornia, upper beaches, roost on upper beaches. Almost all juveniles.  Slightly larger than westerns.

Pectoral Sandpiper:  Also mostly seen in the fall, some adults in July to early August, but mostly juveniles in August thru Sept, a few in Oct.  Long greenish yellow legs.  Medium length two-toned bill, pale at the base, noticeable supercillium,  Split supercillium, fairly attenuated, slightly smaller than a dowicher, larger than a dunlin.  Look for collar, very defined, clear border. .White belly.  Salicornia, brackish or fresh water ponds.  Tend to be mid continental migrant.  There is a white mantle line.  Variable reddish on scapulars, coverts.  Some can have a reddish cap.

Sharp-tailed sandpiper:  about the size of a Pectoral.  Greenish yellow legs, similar bill.  Juvenile has very buffy breast, lacks streaks on central part, bleeds into the belly area.  Bright red cap.  Regular in the fall in small but variable numbers.   Have a white eye ring.  Eye stripe flares behind the eye.  As with other juveniles, later in the fall, they can be worn, and the white feather edges can be quite worn.  STSP has a white mantle line.  S. American strategy.  Eccentric wing molt in the formative plumage.  So don’t molt primaries in the US in fall migration.

Upland Sandpiper:  very rare in W WA in migration.  Long neck Yellowish legs, long legs.  Long tail, short wings.  Small head and small bill.  Unusual appearance.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper:  irregular in the fall.  Sewer ponds, golf courses.  Attenuated, long primaries. S Am strategy.  Bright yellow legs. Complete preformative molt.  Short pointed bill.  Beedy eye with pale head and pale eye ring.  Fringed back feathers make it a scalloped appearance.  White underwing.

Ruff:  fall migrant, mostly juveniles  Rare in spring.  Ruff is male, Reeve is female.  Ruff size of greater yellowlegs, reeve the size of lesser yellowlegs.  Three types of males.   See birding article in Birding.  Red, White and males that look like females.  Lek birds. Juvenile washed with buff on upper breast, little streaking.  (YL has streaking on breast) Brightly patterned above. Legs greenish yellow, no bright yellow.  Short thick based bill.  Long attenuated face, looks pulled forward face into the bill.  N.Hemisphere strategy eccentric molt.

Short-billed Dowichers:  Look on surfbird site for peep identification.  Best way to ID is by voice.  Fast mellow tew-tew-tew  Long billed is a sharp peek.  Early fall migrants, adults can be in TX by the end of July.  Female bills longer.  So female short-billed approach male long-billed.  Toughest plumage is worn breeding and winter plumage.  Adults first, large flocks, along the coast.  Mostly salt water.  Large flocks of hundreds to thousands of birds should be mostly or all SBs.   Short billed spotted breasts.  Slightly longer primary projection, up to 2 feathers.  (LB have none) In every plumage SB is brighter than LB.  This is due to the feathers on the back and coverts have white or rufous edges all the way up the feathers.  Note in the LB it is just the end of these feathers with rufous edging.  Two toned bill. Paler at the base. Kink in the lower bill tends to be at one place. More blunt tipped.

Long-billed Dowichers:  usually small to medium sized groups, favor fresh water ponds, bill longer, more evenly curved, more pointed.  In adult plumage stripes on flanks tend to wear off more so SB in worn plumage more spotted on flanks.  Eye placement is lower on LB, higher on SB.  Less steep forehead than SB.  Flatter posterior back in SB, more indented in the LB.   Central vein of the feathers of the covert and scapulars tend to be darker.   The black of the tail feathers is wider than the white, opposite in SB.  Helpful on some birds.

Two rules of primary molt: SB molt at coastal sites, mostly from N CA south.  LB can molt on breeding grounds and in early migration.

1.  If you see a dowicher in basic plumage away from the coast it is LB.

2.  If you see a dowicher in wing molt in the interior it is a LB, SB molts only at coastal sites, usually south of WA.

Dennis Paulson article on sandpipers in American Birds, about 2005  Flocking behavior.  Two main purposes.  One is social.  A species has similar flight patterns that aid in this.  A species of an off species falls out quickly because they fly slightly differently.  Second purpose is to avoid predators.

Sentinels see the predator first, Plovers, tringines, phalaropes, upland sandpipers and curlews.

Birds that flock together:

(Surfbirds, turnstones, rock sp)

(dunlin & sanderlings)

(Red knots and BBPL)

(Curlew and Godwits)

Sentinel species tend to space in feeding habitat, have loud calls.  Tend to have loose smaller flocks.

Probers are more at risk, have heads down more.  Dunlin, Stilt, dowichers, snipe, godwits, peeps are examples of probers.  Tend to have heads down, call less, form large flocks.  Probers tend to feed with sentinel species, when alone should need to spend more time watching out, have higher predation rates.

 

Stilt Sandpiper:  most juveniles.  Most in August and Sept.  August best,  E and W WA.  Mostly fresh water or sometimes brackish ponds.  Long billed, slightly larger than a dunlin, bright longish legs, blunt droopy bill, Juvenile buffy on the breast.  Somewhat attenuated, fairly long primary projection.  Fringed white back feathers.  Tend to be pickers, pick like a yellowlegs, will submerge their whole head, hold their bill down when walking feeding.

Wilson’s snipe:  cryptic coloration, both streaks and bars.

Wilson’s phalaropes:  rare migrant in W WA, breed E WA.  Poith wing. Plain wing and white tail.  Molt migrants. Gather in large groups in migration and molt in these sites.  Largest.

Red-necked phalaropes:  Much smaller than Wilson’s.    Smallest phalarope. Medium pointed bill.  Striped tail.  Striped back.  Aug – Oct.  After Oct 15th these are rare in WA.

Red Phalarope:  Plain backed.  Blunter bill. Striped tail.  Two tone shorter blunter bill.  Lighter cap and whitish forehead.   Slightly smaller than the Wilsons, much larger than the Red.

Fall 2010 Class #2 Focus on Molt

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Tonight is all about Molt

Look at the Howell ABA article table of molt.

We will use the Humphrey Parke System.  It’s all about feather growth, i.e. molt.  Not about color.

Other systems are the Calandar Year molt system.  The problem with this is this can be more cumbersome re what year the bird is in, etc.  Pyle uses this.  Another system is the Life Year strategy.  This works good for Northern Hemisphere birds, but is awkward when birds cross the equator.

See article by Howell All You Ever Wanted to Know About Molt but were Afraid to Ask Part II Finding Order Amid the Chaos

Here is a link to the Slater Museum Blog with many posts on birding and other topics to browse

Here is a Dennis Paulson post on Molt.

Humphrey-Parkes:

4 strategies.

Simple Basic Strategy (SBS)

Complex Basic Strategy (CBS)

Simple Alternate Strategy (SAS)

Complex Alternate Strategy (CAS)

Complex means birds shed their juvenile plumage into formative plumage in the first year.

Alternate means the birds have an additional molt each year, almost always a partial molt in each year, usually into breeding plumage.

In HP we talk about cycles, not years.

Here are some terms to learn the definitions of:

Simple Basic: Albatrosses, petrels, barn owls, a few others.  In the fall there is a complete molt in all birds.

Limited: body & head

Partial: this plus some coverts, scapulars

Incomplete: above plus some remiges.

Complete: all feathers.

Complex basic strategy:  In the first cycle only, the bird has a preformative molt into the formative plumage in the first fall.  Then has just one pre-basic molt each year.  This pre-formative molt is usually limited, partial, or incomplete.  Example: towhee.  All black juvenile plumage.  Then they disappear; have a pre-formative partial molt losing all but flight feathers to look like an adult, except for worn primaries.

Simple Alternate Strategy:  In first year birds carry juvenile plumage until the first alternate molt.  This can vary in time from fall to winter. Think large white headed gulls.  Carry juvenile plumage until Sept.  Then have molt of some scapulars, etc. into A1 plumage.  Thereafter each year have one complete basic molt, and one partial alternate molt.

Complex Alternate Strategy:  First year birds have two inserted molts after juvenile.  F1 molt is usually partial, then later in the first year is the A1 molt.  Thereafter each year have a partial PA molt, and a complete PB molt.

Difference between formative molt and basic molt is that the PF molt is usually not complete.  Basic is complete.

Examples:  All passerines have a complex molt strategy.  Look at the table for these by family.

Here is a link to the table Ken used in class.   http://www.prbo.org/cms/docs/terre/Howell%20Birding%20molt%202003%20part%202.pdf

The pre-basic, pre-formative, and pre-alternate terms refer to a molt into the basic, formative and alternate plumages.

How do we recognize molt.  Obviously look for gaps in wings and tails.  If these are present, we say the bird is in active molt. If in active molt the bird is in transition from one plumage to another.

Injury to feathers.  Sometimes if you see a bird with assymetric flight feathers missing, especially not in the fall, it may be damaged feathers.  Birds often replace these damaged feathers.  Some birds suspend molt, and leave gaps for periods of time.

Molt Limits + Molt Contrast is the contrast between the new feathers and the old feathers being replaced. Often in the fall will see bright feathers being replaced by gray or plain feathers.  May see molt limits in the scapulars or coverts.  Sometimes you can age first year birds this way

Feather wear:  new feathers are not frayed, usually rounded and fully formed, don’t droop.  Old feathers often brownish, frayed, and often narrow.  Especially primaries, sometimes can be droopy.  As new feathers grow, they passively push out the old feathers.  Sometimes the old feathers become loose, and can droop.  As a rule of thumb, juvenile feathers are weak, and need to be replaced soon.  Hawks often keep their juvenile feathers a year, because as they grow them more slowly they can attain more keratin, and be more durable in the longer time in the nest.

Molt of remiges usually starts at P1 and when it gets out to about P6 the secondaries start, usually at S1 and inward from there.  Most birds molt sequentially.  Then the tertials start, and the tail is last. Tail starts form the inside out, starting with R1 and working outward.  Woodpeckers are an exception, they molt R2-6 first, then molt R1 later, to facilitate feeding techniques.

Feather wear.  Dark parts wear more slowly.  Look at gulls. Early in the year the white tips are big, later by spring the white tips can become smaller.  Another example is least sandpiper.  Scapulars white and gray tips in the spring, but by fall look almost all dark. Starlings wear off the non-black feather tips to go into breeding plumage.

Early in fall migration, shorebirds, adults in worn plumage, juveniles have very fresh plumage.  Later adults look very fresh, and juveniles look more worn.  Western Sandpipers for example seen on our trip.

Easiest way to study molt is at your feeder, or at the park in ducks.  You can study the progression easily this way.

Molt can be suspended, often larger birds suspend their molt in the winter.

How can this help us in our field identification?  Presence of wing molt can be useful.  Absence is less useful.  Sometimes species can be IDed at some times of year by their molt.  Leaches vs. Band-rumped storm petrels off Carolina in summer.

Golden plovers in California.

Hammond’s flycatcher.  In fall Hammonds molt on breeding grounds or near.  So in fall a molted empid in the west is Hammonds.  All others molt later.

In Texas cliff vs. cave swallow.  Cliff molts in S Am.  Cave molts in N. Am.

In So Cal nighthawks in molt in the fall tells us it’s a lesser nighthawk. Common nighthawks don’t molt until wintering grounds.

Only jaeger that molts off CA is Pomerine.

Western Sandpipers molt off west coast, Least don’t molt until in S America.

Now refer to Ken’s cumulative table of shorebird molting.

Look at the two basic strategies for molt, N. Hemisphere and S. Hemisphere. This is where the birds winter.

Northern  Hemisphere Strategy:  partial to imcomplete preformative molts.  Don’t include remiges.  Rapid & early PB molt.  PA molt is well defined, and is on non-breeding grounds.  Think W. Sandpiper.

Southern Hemisphere Strategy: Incomplete to complete preformative, remiges eccentrically or completely molted.  In PF many shorebirds have eccentric wing molts. Usually involved P9 & P10.   Note more molting in the long distance primaries, those which are more exposed at rest.   Protracted PB molts. May start body, and even wing molt on the nest or in early migration, usually on the wintering grounds Jan – April.   PA molt often overlaps with shedding of remiges.  PA molt can overlap with PB, more often PA molt happens at molt sites on the way to breeding grounds.

Over-summering:  relates to body size, migration distance.  Larger birds and longer distance migrants tend to over-summer in the first year.

Snowy plovers molt in N A.

Articles to check out:

O R V I N B S E G B I R D B E H AV I O R

Migrants,  Mono Lake,  Monsoons, and Molt

http://www.aba.org/birding/v39n3p34.pdf

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Molt But Were Afraid to Ask Part II: Finding Order Amid the Chaos

http://www.prbo.org/cms/docs/terre/Howell%20Birding%20molt%202003%20part%202.pdf

A Tale of Two Strategies: Fall Molt of Adult Dowitchers

http://www.aba.org/birding/v37n4p380.pdf

Active Flight Feather Molt In MIgrating North American Raptors

http://www.aba.org/birding/v41n4p34.pdf

2010 Fall Class #1: Intro to Shorebirds

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These notes are from the Oct, 5, 2010 Advanced Birding Class by Ken Brown, notes taken by Ed Pullen.

Tonight look at silhouettes.  Next week discuss molt, and start on plumage marks of shorebirds.  We will spend 3-4 weeks on shorebirds.  This class we will concentrate on shorebirds, gulls, and hawks, and briefly cover the rest.  Will look at more details like molt, flight characteristics.

Sibley Page 158-9 shows shorebirds in basic plumage.  Most are to scale.  Looking at scale and silhouettes.  Get the A Guide to Shorebirds book by Crosley et al.  You can ID 80+ % of shorebirds by  GISS.  Learn structure and behavior, it’s more intuitive.

Topography:  There are 5 rows of feathers in the scapulars.  Primaries are usually black, and you can count the tips.  Tertials and scapulars cover the primaries.
Primary projection is very important.

Scapular lines and mantle lines can be important. Look to see if the mantle feathers line up to make a whitish line on the edge of the mantle.

In the flying bird primary feathers numbered from the inside out, most have 9-10 primaries, i.e outermost is #`10.  Secondaries numbered from outside in, i.e. #1 is outermost.  Variable numbers, most have about 16.   Tertials lie just inside the secondaries,   Look at Big Sibley page 18 to see how the wings close under the tertials.  In the tail the two R1’s are together in the middle of the tail.  The primary coverts cover the primaries, and like the primaries the feather tracts originate from the wrist and form the hand,  the greater coverts cover the secondaries, if the greater covert tips are white it gives a wing stripe.  The Alula is the tip of the “bastard wing” at the very tip of the front of the wrist.

GISS:  General Impression Structure and Shape.  Relative size is very important, and often see mixed flocks, so you can often get several species in a group.  One shorebird by itself can be difficult.  If there are no other birds around relate size to a bird you know.  Look at structure, i.e. bill length to the length of the head.  If the bill is the length of the head it is average bill length.  Leg length, bill length, bill thickness, pointy or blunt bill, thick or thin at the base?, chunky or slim bird, attenuated or stocky, short neck like semipalmated SP or longer like western SP?

After these, go to the fine points, leg color, wing projection, bill color, i.e field marks.

Behavior:  how does it feed, visually or tactile feeder; deep prober or shallow probing, pick or probe, aggressive or methodical feeder (YLs)  Large tightly packed, or loose scattered flock.  Least SPs scatter, Western and dunlin tightly packed.  Voice can be diagnostic.

Probability is very important.  Know what to expect.  In July a large flock of dowichers is likely SB,  Long-billed often smaller flocks, later in the year.  Large flock of small shorebirds in the winter is always made up of primarily dunlin in WA.  Now (Oct.) if we see a dowicher at the coast, 90% LB.  Too late to likey be SB.

To get used to the intuitive approach, watch your  feeder.  Look at behaviors, eg. if you see a “Song Sparrow” like bird scratching on the ground it is a Fox Sparrow.  Song sparrows don’t scratch.

Silhouettes.  Look at the pictures in the shorebird book. 

Snowy Plover rounded belly, flat on the back, short legs.  Very short tail and bill.

Semipalmated plover more attenuated, though still stocky.

Killdeer nice rounded head, bill almost as long as the head, long tail.

Mountain Plover:  Killdeer size, long legs, upright, rounded head, medium sized bill,

Golden plovers:  Pacific smaller head and longer legs, Pacific bigger in the chest, American longer primary and wing projection,

Black Belied Plover:  Big headed, heavy looking, Big round head, short if any wing projection.

Upland Sandpiper:  very unique, medium to long bill on tiny head, long neck, very short wings, tail longer.

Pectoral sandpiper:  fairly long bill, blockish head, attenuated. Slightly larger than a dunlin.

Buff Breasted:  rounded head, habitat is key.

Oystercatcher:  big, stocky bill.

Whimbrel:  shorter more acutely curved bill.  Striped head.

LB Curlew:  attenuated, very long bill, overall rosy brown.

American Avocet:  note the Adam’s apple

Sometimes in non-breeding territory birds segregate by sex, females farther south.

Greater Yellowlegs: more aggressive, fast feeder,

Lesser Yellowlegs:  smaller, ½ the wt of greater. More attenuated, slimmer, straight bill, medium length, all black bill.

Solitary sandpiper:  Long bill, slightly decurved. Compact, smaller than lesser YL and dowichers.  Almost always alone. Early fall migrants.

Eastern and Western Willet:  long bill thick at the base, Western is larger and darker than the Eastern.

Hudsonian Godwit:  slightly smaller than Marbled, smaller bill, can show up in a flock godwits.  Wing stripe and banded tail.

Bar Tailed:  slightly smaller, two tone bill also.  Tends to be two toned earlier in the year.  In molt can be more uniform.  Use the eye stripe on Bar tailed.  Flares behind the eye, vs. marbled ends by the eye.

Peeps:

Bairds Sandpiper & White-rumped are bigger that the other three.

Bills:  Bairds needle like, thin throughout, white rumped bigger and two toned, western droopy, semipalmated thick at the base, short and blunt, least shallow at the base, to a point, and slightly decurved.

Baird’s and White-rumped have longer primary projection, in Baird’s so long the wings are sometimes crossed. In WA only fairly common long winged peep is Baird’s.

Western and Semi-palmated have short primary projection,

Least very small, small bill, short primary projection.

Western vs. Semi-palmated:  Bill is helpful, but juvenile westerns can have shorter bill too, but is droopy and not thick at the base.  Western more bull necked and front heavy.  Feeding is different.  Western probe and pick, Semi-palmated runs and picks.

Least tends to feed near its feet.

Spotted Sandpiper:  Southern Hemisphere in winter, most gone by now. Medium to long, attenuated.  Bobbing their tail.  (vs whole body bobbing in Solitary SP)

Baird’s tend to shuffle their feet and tend to bob their head with every step.

Dunlin: ( you have to know this, and the really common ones.) black legs and black droopy bill, much bigger than Western.  Longer than the head bill. Wing stripe.

Sanderling:  size of dunlin, on the beach, chase the waves, short to medium bill.  Black bill and legs.

Red Knot:  more in the spring.  Bigger than dowichers, more upright, chunky.  Medium length pointed bill,

Rock sandpiper:  Turnstone sized, small, pointed droopy bill.  Solid gray above in winter.

Surfbird:  large stocky

Wandering Tattler:  long attenuated, uniformly colored.

Stilt Sandpiper:  smaller than dowicher, upright, rounded head, walk and pick with their bill down,

Dowichers:  Key is the voice.

Phalaropes:  Habitat/ probability.  Red necked smallest, just bigger than western.  Red is biggest.  Bill shape key.  Red Phalarope has plover-like and two-toned bill.

Some Articles to Look at:

O R V I N B S E G B I R D B E H AV I O R

Migrants,  Mono Lake,  Monsoons, and Molt

http://www.aba.org/birding/v39n3p34.pdf

Identification of North American Peeps A different Approach to an Old Problem

http://www.aba.org/birding/v40n4p32.pdf

A tale of Two Strategies: New Advances in the Field Identification of Dowitchers

http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/dowitchers.html

Charlie Wright on eBird.

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Our second ABCBirding club meeting at the University Place Round Table Pizza featured Charlie Wright presenting on eBird, the Cornell University site for birders to post their birding checklists for safekeeping and to contribute to citizen science. I know I learned a lot, especially the changes in recent years that make data entry much faster and easier than it was years ago when I first tried out eBird.

Some cool things I learned was how to use the site finder map to quickly zoom in to locate the area you are birding for data entry by site, how to use the site for information on seasonal patterns down to incredible detail on each species, and how to share checklists with other eBirders. If on our field trips all of us use eBIrd, we can each keep and enter a checklist for each location we bird, and then just share all the checklists. Many hands will make light work of the data entry.

Charlie was also kind enough to share his power point presentation through a file sharing site, so if you want to refer to the presentation you can *click here .*

It would be great to see everyone join eBird and list their eBird user names below as comments so we can generate a cut and paste list of eBird user names to share checklists.

For those of you who learn better via videos, here is a YouTube video put out by Cornell.


 

Gull Trip 2-18-2012

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Saturday Feb 18, 2012 Ken Brown led a small group of 5 ABC birders, Brian, David, Dianne, and me on a local gull trip, and here is a rundown of the morning part of the trip.  I had to leave at midday unexpectedly so I’ll ask Dianne or Ken to make a comment to outline the afternoon birds  We birded two general areas, the Hylebos waterfront off Marine View Drive, and the Gog-li-hi-te wetlands area in order to study gulls.  It’s a good thing we were looking for gulls, because nearly every other bird in their right mind was taking cover from the high winds and precipitation, both rain and hail.

At the waterway log booms we had good looks at Mew Gulls, a few Glaucous-winged and Olympic Gulls (GW-Western Hybrids), and a couple of Western Gulls.  Saw all three cormorants, two Pacific Loons, Bald Eagles, and a pair of courting Red-tailed Hawks.

Off to the wetlands, and there we found lots of gulls, at least a thousand, maybe more in total. At the mouth of the Puyallup river we had at least one Thayer’s gull along with the GW/Western blends.  Several Mew gulls too.  Back on the rooftops at the Gog-li-hi-tee area on the rooftops and trailers around the rendering plants the flocks were thick. We found both a Herring Gull and several  Thayers gulls there.

The best viewing of the day though was at the back mitigation pond where on the mud and in the shallow water were a few hundred loafing gulls.  In the near ground were Mew gulls in all three Feb. plumages, i.e. Juvenile (B1), B2 and Adult, with varying degrees of early PA molt. Lots of GW gulls and hybrids of all 4 plumages and best of all nice looks at Thayer’s gulls both adult and juvenile, and adult Herring gulls. We also found one gull that we think is either a Glaucous hybrid or Glaucous gull.  We got only suboptimal photos.  We had a few California gulls too. Gulls give a great opportunity to study and understand molt, and we worked that angle with Ken’s help all morning. So for the day we had GW, Western, Mew, California, Thayers and Herring gulls, missed Ringed-bill giving us 6 of the expected 7 for the day, with a possible 7th if we figure out the mystery gull was a Glaucous.

Here is a photo by Diane, and I’ll try to get some of mine in order to put up soon.  See you Thursday.

Herring Gull 2-18-12 by Dianne Y-Q.

 

Gull ? Glaucous from Gog-li-hi-tee 2-18-2012

 

Ed

KENT PONDS

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I participated in Roger Orness’ GNRA Census of Kent ponds today. We saw 2 Tree Sparrow’s that were quite willing to give us very good looks. Best way to access the Kent Ponds is to take 228th East and exit onto Russell Rd which is now one way. There is a loop trail between the two entrances along this road. The Tree Sparrows as well as White Crowned, Golden Crowned, Song Sparrow and Spotted Towhee could be seen along this path. Other birds of note on Publicly accessed interior trails were Sharp- Shinned, Coopers, and Red-Tailed Hawks, a Harrier, Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon. Wayne Sladek

Washington Shorebird GISS Notes

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Ken’s helpful class handout on the GISS of Washington Shorebirds

GISS  General impression structure shape

Black Bellied Plover:  240gms., about size of G. Yellowlegs, larger than A.Gold.Pl., chunky large headed, thick chest, primaries slightly past tail. run stop feeding.

Am. Gold.Pl.:  145gms., attenuated, slim neck & chest,long legs-toes completely past tail in flight, usually 4 primaries exposed, wings 1/2″ or more past tail tip.  run stop feeding, upland also.

Pac. Gold. Pl.:  130 gms., same size as American, recalls BB Pl. ie front heavy upright, rounded body, heavy chest, ie. dumpy, 3 primaries exposed, 1/2″ or less beyond tail, long tertials, run stop feeding, upland.

Snowy Pl.:  40gms., slightly smaller than semi-palm, rounded front heavy, large headed slim billed, run stop plucking beaches, salt lakes, alkali flats, light backed

Semi-Palm. Pl.:  45 gms, intermediate between peep and sanderling, chunky but attenuated, round head, stubby bill, run-stop feeding beaches, mudflats, scattered flocks.

G. Yellowlegs:  160gms., 2x weight of Lesser, long legs, neck & bill, prominent adams apple, active feeder, walks steadily picks at surface, often runs frantically to chase fish, flooded fields, marshes, tidal creeks. bill upturned.

L. Yellowlegs:  80gms., slightly smaller than dowitchers, delicate, slim chest & smoot body contours, small head, slim straight bill. walks rapidly and methodically, picking, seldom runs, flooded fields, shallow ponds, mudflats.

Solitary Sand.:  50gms., Midway between peep & Lesser Yellowlegs, compact, short wings, legs & neck, slightly larger head, moves slowly and nervously picking at surface, ponds, creeks, marshs, solitary, spotted above.

Willet:  215 gms. near G. Yellowlegs, stocky and more compact than G.Y. larger head, thick neck & bill, walks steadily picking, shallow probes, tidal creeks & flats.

Wandering Tattler:  110gms, close to red knot, slim & attenuated, short legs, medium lengh bill, horizontal stance, walks quickly over rocks, teeters like spotted, picks & probes, usually solitary, loose flocks. largest rock piper.

Spotted Sand:  40gms. slightly larger than peep, short legs & bill, horizontal stance, active walks quickly picking, shallow fluttery flight close to water surface.

Whimbrel: 390gms., larger than willet, smaller than LB curlew, bulky & attenuated, long neck decurved bill, stipes on head, walks steadily, picking & probing, mudflats, marshes.

LBilled Curlew:  590gms, distinctly larger than Godwit or Whimbrel, heavy body, long decurved bill, no stripes on head, walks steadily picking & probing, mudflats, pastures.

Hudsonian Godwit:  300gms, willet size, heavy chest, long pointed wings, upturned bill, white rump & wingstripe, walks steadily, deep prober, mudflats, flooded fields, very rare.  15.5″.

Marbled Godwit:  370 gms, larger than willet, bulky body, long legs, abreviated supercilium, upturned bill, steadily walks, probing deeply, mudflats.

Bar-tailed Godwit:  340gms, between Marbled and Hudsonian in size, shorter neck and legs than Hudsonian but longer bill, walks steadily probes deeply, mudflats, tidal flats, widening supercilium behind eye.

Ruddy Turnstone:  110 gms, slightly larger than sanderling, chunky short legs & neck, short bill, low croucher, flips debris, digs in sand also cobbled habitats.

Black Turnstone:  120gms., chunkier than ruddy, short neck & legs, chisel like short bill, croucher, flips debris, rocky areas.

Surfbird:  190gms., 10″, 2nd largest rock piper, chunky, short stout plover like bill. Active, walks quickly over rocks, tugs or pecks.

Rock Sandpiper:  70 gms., slightly larger than dunlin, chunky and rounded, medium to long droopy bill, croucher, walks steadily, picking, hops & fluttters from rock to rock.

Red Knot: 135 gms., dowitcher size, chunky, short legs, medium bill, horizontal stance, walks slowly picking and probing, sandy beaches, mudflats.

Sanderling:  60gms, size of dunlin, larger than peep. chunky rounded body, large head, thick neck. medium bill, picks at surface, chases waves. whitest shorebird in winter.

Semi-Palm Sand:  25gms, 6.25″, slightly larger than least, plump body, not as front heavy as Western, straight blunt-tipped bill, deeper at base than western. walks steadily, picks nervously, aggressive mudflats.

Western Sand:  26gms, 6.5″, front heavy, larger head, longer droopy finer tipped bill, roosting birds more upright than Semi-palmated sandpiper, picks & probes shallow, large flocks migration, with dunlin winter, mudflats.

Least Sand:  20gms. 6″, medium bill fine tipped, roosts more upright than S-P, crouches when feeding, bill tip close to toes, walks steadily, picking broad mudflats close to shore, often higher on mudflats.

Baird’s Sand:  38gms, 7.5″, slightly larger than peep, steep forehead, straight fine tipped bill, long wings often crossed, walks steadily, picking, dry edges of mudflats, short grass.

Pectoral Sand:  73gms., 8.75″, Larger than dunlin, Males largest, bulky broad chested, but attenuated. small head, longer neck and legs than Baird’s. Primaries to tail tip. picks at surface, mudflats, pastures, ponds.

Sharp-Tailed Sand:  68gms, 8.5″, similar to Pectoral, more rounded body, longer legs, shorter slimmer bill, not 2 toned, red cap, buffy chest, with Pectorals usually.

Dunlin:  60 gms, 8.5″, Sanderling size, chunky, short thick neck, long droopy bill, dun colored, rapidly picks & probes, winters here in good numbers, large flocks by default.

Stilt Sand:  58gms, 8.5″, dunlin sized, smaller than dowitchers, long legs, fine tipped droopy long bill. walks steadily with bill down, probes deeply or picks at surface, often belly deep in ponds, shallow water, submerges head.

Buff-breated Sand:  63gms, 8.25″, size of Pectoral, sleek, attenuated, squarish head, short straight bill, upright stance, walks quickly with pigeon-like gait, (head bobbing), short grass, plowed fields, dry sandflats.

Ruff:  150gms, 11″, female close to Lesser Yellowlegs, male close to Greater.  chunky, round body, long legs & neck, short droopy bill, hunches when feeding, upright when alert. active, wanders continuouly, picking & probing,  ponds, marshes, flooded fields often with yellowlegs.

Short-Billed Dow:  110gms, 11″,  size of Lesser Yellowlegs, chunky but attenuated, short legs, long bill, horizontal stance, usually slimmer and flatter backed than LB in relaxed feeding pose, bill shorter, thicker at base, with longer curve at base, probes deeply, sewing machine in shallow water. mostly coastal, salt water.

Long-Billed Dow:  115gms, 11.5″, chunky, round back, indented near tail base, bill longer, thinner based, flatter for longer distance than S-B. ie curves more quickly from head.  Only winter time dowy, fresh water, ponds, sheltered tidal, sewing machine feeding.

Wilson’s Phalarope:  60gms, 9.25″, longest bill, needlelike, small head, long neck, spins in water, picking, usually inland.

Red-Necked Phalarope, 35 gms., 7.75″, smallest, compact with slim neck, small head. medium length bill, spins also, inland, coastal, pelagic.  Striped back.

Red Phalarope:  55gms., 8.5″, similar to sanderling, 40% larger than R-N, bulky, heavy chested, thick neck, large head, heavier plover like bill, 2 toned. plain back, spins, mostly pelagic, coastal after storms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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