Tag Archives: shorebirds

Shorebirding with the Man who Wrote the Book on Shorebirds

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Dennis Paulson and the ABC Birding Trip

Dennis Paulson and the ABC Birding Trip


Every Pacific Northwest birder refers to Dennis Paulson’s definitive book “Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest” when we want to get the best available help with shorebird issues. Today 15 ABC members, myself included, had the pleasure of spending a day with Dennis at Ocean Shores looking for shorebirds and learning from his vast experience. One of the major topics of the day was the dramatic absence of shorebirds to study. We made several stops at the usual places, the jetty at Brown’s point, both sides of the Oyhut Game Range, the open beach and the Hoquiam STP. We managed to see only 10 species of shorebirds, and in relatively low numbers. Still we all felt fortunate to have the opportunity to be out with Dennis, learn from his approach to bird identification, and all had a really nice day.
Our time at the Jetty was quite productive, with 3 “rock-pipers” Black Turnstone, Surfbird and Wandering Tattler seen along with good numbers of Common Murres, and intermittently large numbers of Sooty Shearwaters. Dennis helped us ID a young probably early second-cycle Herring Gull on the beach. The game range was pretty quiet, we suspect in part due to the two Peregrine Falcons and the Cooper’s Hawk who kept what shorebirds were there on the defensive.
We finished at the Hoquiam STP and had nice looks at a basic plumage Eared Grebe and a good variety of ducks and gulls, but again alas the only shorebird was a single Killdeer.
Thanks to Dennis for leading the trip, to Kay Pullen for helping to arrange it, and to the participants for helping make it possible. Good Birding.

Eastern WA Vagrant and Shorebird Trip

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The ABC East Side passerine vagrant and Shorebird trip on the weekend of Sept 7-8, 2013 was a great weekend for shorebirds and a bit slow for migrating passerines.  We had 11 participants in 4 cars and so made great time on the road, and the overall weekend gad good weather and lots of time birding without excessive driving.

Our first stop was at Gingko State Park at Vantage.  The sprinklers were on and at the top we had few birds.  The highlight of the stop for many was a herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep at very close range with nursing babies and about 25 total sheep.  The bird of the stop for me was a pair of canyon wrens calling incessantly and showing off at eye level close views down by the river.  It was the first time for me to hear their call note well, not just their well-known song.  I’ll attach e-bird lists for each stop for anyone interested in more details.  See here

Sheep flock

Next stop was Getty Cove, south of the State Park, where we found modest numbers of the expected warblers (YR, Yellow, Wilson’s) as well as Warbling Vireo.  See list here.  Overall not as birdy as last September, but a nice place to bird in the fall migration.  On the drive back to Wanapum State Park we saw a Red-necked Grebe close in on the river just fading from its red-necked alternate plumage.   At the park after a slow start we finally found a nice flock of mixed migrants, including 3 vireos Warbling, Red-eyed and Cassin’s, as well as a Townsend’s and Orange-crowned warblers among the YR flock.  Also had two Western Tanagers and lots of American Robins.  List here.

A quick stop on the frontage road toward Moses Lake yielded great close looks at a Swainson’s hawk on a utility pole before we got to the Winchester Rest Stop Sewage Ponds where we had a remarkable 10 species of shorebirds including American avocet, Pectoral sandpiper and Least sandpiper.  See list

Perched Swainson's Hawk

We headed to the Potholes Rookery site where the reported Snowy Egret was not obliging but lots of American white pelicans and had a nice fly-by of an immature Black-crowned night heron.  On the way out we had some flocks of sparrows including Vesper and Lark. List here  and here.

After a night at The Inn at Moses Lake and a dinner on the lake at Michaels (recommended) we spent Sunday early looking for the Eastern wood-pewee at the horse-chestnut orchard above Lind Cooley without success, though some saw a Prairie falcon there.  list From there we went to Perch Point on the Potholes Reservoir.  It was the highlight of the day of shore-birding with large numbers of Pectoral sandpipers, peeps, about 100 Great egrets, several gull species including some Bonaparte’s gulls with some juvenile (not formative which we usually see on first winter birds) aspect remaining.  list

The rest of the day was spent circling the reservoir with several stops.  Lind Cooley was not as productive as last year except at the parking lot on top where we picked up Baird’s sandpiper along with a variety of other shorebirds  list.  On the way back we decided to try again at the Potholes Rookery for the Snowy egret without success, but a small water hold off Dodson Rd we saw a Stilt sandpiper to round out a nice weekend of shorebirding.  list

Stilt Sandpiper

All photos thanks to Pat Damron.

Here is the list for the trip:

Summary
Sep 7 Sep 8 Sep 9 Sep 10 Sep 11 Sep 12 Sep 13
Number of Species 64 60 — — — — —
Number of Individuals 712 2,017 — — — — —
Number of Checklists 8 10
Species Name Sep 7 Sep 8 Sep 9 Sep 10 Sep 11 Sep 12 Sep 13
Canada Goose 45
(2)		 80
(3)		 — — — — —
Mallard 2
(1)		 14
(3)		 — — — — —
Blue-winged Teal 6
(2)		 — — — — — —
Cinnamon Teal 1
(1)		 4
(1)		 — — — — —
Northern Shoveler — 8
(1)		 — — — — —
teal sp. — 20
(1)		 — — — — —
California Quail 2
(1)		 — — — — — —
Common Loon 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Pied-billed Grebe 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Red-necked Grebe 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Western Grebe — 20
(3)		 — — — — —
Clark’s Grebe — 3
(1)		 — — — — —
Western/Clark’s Grebe — 50
(1)		 — — — — —
Double-crested Cormorant 80
(1)		 75
(4)		 — — — — —
American White Pelican 150
(1)		 42
(3)		 — — — — —
Great Blue Heron — 4
(4)		 — — — — —
Great Egret 45
(1)		 98
(3)		 — — — — —
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Osprey 2
(2)		 1
(3)		 — — — — —
Northern Harrier — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Cooper’s Hawk 2
(1)		 — — — — — —
Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Swainson’s Hawk 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Red-tailed Hawk 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
American Coot 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
American Avocet 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Killdeer 2
(3)		 11
(4)		 — — — — —
Spotted Sandpiper — 2
(2)		 — — — — —
Greater Yellowlegs 2
(2)		 5
(4)		 — — — — —
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
(2)		 3
(3)		 — — — — —
Stilt Sandpiper — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Sanderling — 2
(1)		 — — — — —
Baird’s Sandpiper — 5
(1)		 — — — — —
Least Sandpiper 3
(1)		 30
(3)		 — — — — —
Pectoral Sandpiper 2
(2)		 7
(3)		 — — — — —
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Western Sandpiper 15
(1)		 80
(4)		 — — — — —
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
(1)		 3
(2)		 — — — — —
Red-necked Phalarope 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 — — — — —
Bonaparte’s Gull — 11
(1)		 — — — — —
Ring-billed Gull 50
(2)		 200
(4)		 — — — — —
California Gull 2
(2)		 8
(3)		 — — — — —
gull sp. — 300
(2)		 — — — — —
Rock Pigeon 3
(1)		 6
(1)		 — — — — —
Eurasian Collared-Dove — 4
(1)		 — — — — —
Mourning Dove 4
(3)		 6
(3)		 — — — — —
Vaux’s Swift 3
(1)		 — — — — — —
Downy Woodpecker — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Northern Flicker 2
(2)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
American Kestrel 1
(2)		 — — — — — —
Peregrine Falcon — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Prairie Falcon — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Say’s Phoebe 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Cassin’s Vireo 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Warbling Vireo 3
(3)		 1
(2)		 — — — — —
Red-eyed Vireo 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Black-billed Magpie 2
(1)		 2
(2)		 — — — — —
American Crow 4
(2)		 4
(2)		 — — — — —
Common Raven 4
(3)		 — — — — — —
Tree Swallow — 40
(1)		 — — — — —
Bank Swallow 4
(1)		 — — — — — —
Barn Swallow 40
(3)		 20
(2)		 — — — — —
Rock Wren 3
(1)		 — — — — — —
Canyon Wren 2
(1)		 — — — — — —
Marsh Wren — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Bewick’s Wren — 2
(1)		 — — — — —
American Robin 28
(3)		 — — — — — —
European Starling 6
(1)		 — — — — — —
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Yellow Warbler 4
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
(2)		 40
(3)		 — — — — —
Townsend’s Warbler 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Wilson’s Warbler 1
(1)		 3
(1)		 — — — — —
Vesper Sparrow 3
(1)		 — — — — — —
Lark Sparrow 2
(1)		 — — — — — —
Savannah Sparrow — 2
(3)		 — — — — —
Song Sparrow 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — — —
White-crowned Sparrow 7
(3)		 6
(1)		 — — — — —
Dark-eyed Junco 4
(1)		 — — — — — —
Western Tanager 2
(1)		 — — — — — —
Red-winged Blackbird — 30
(2)		 — — — — —
Western Meadowlark 8
(2)		 4
(1)		 — — — — —
Yellow-headed Blackbird — 10
(2)		 — — — — —
Brewer’s Blackbird 8
(2)		 30
(2)		 — — — — —
House Finch 14
(2)		 16
(1)		 — — — — —
American Goldfinch 12
(2)		 6
(3)		 — — — — —
House Sparrow 1
(1)		 — — — — — —

Thanks to Ken Brown for arranging another great trip, to all participants for an excellent time birding together. Thanks to the lightening at the Seahawks game for me finding time to get this report on the ABC site.  Ed Pullen

 

Sept 7-8 East Side Fieldtrip

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Ken Brown and Ed Pullen will lead a trip to east side shorebird and migrant spots including Gingko State Park, Getty Cove, Wanapum State Park, Perch Point, Lind Coulee, Moses Lake Rookery, the Para ponds and Potholes State Park.  We will arrange an overnight hotel stay. Plan to bring lunch for both days, water, snacks, and good boots for wet areas.

Meet at the Snoqualmie Pass traveler’s rest stop (usual place) at 7:30 AM on Saturday Sept 7th  Each car will need the yellow access tag for state areas.  Contact Ken or Ed by email to RSVP and to assure we can set up rooms and make dinner reservations.  If you don’t have our email leave a comment with contact info and we’ll get back to you.  (relucant to leave email to avoid spam, most of you have ours)

This trip is being opened to TAS as well as through ABC, so sign up quickly.  We did this trip last year and it was really superb, but was a 3 day trip, this year we only have 2 days, but will visit many of the best spots.

Spring Class 2010 #2

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4-28-2010 Spring Class #2.

Featuring AV with Ryan Weise

Change PBJ to PF on the top of Ken’s molt and song handout for shorebirds.

Change PAJ to PA1 .

Breeding Am Golden Plover the white on the shoulder stops ath the breast, and is wider at the lower end, almost a white shoulder patch.  The wing projection is longer and more primary projection, to accommodate the longer migration.

Pacific Golden Plovers that nest in AK tend to have longer  wings than the Siberian birds, and so some of these have a wing projection nearly as long as the Am. GPs we see here.

Molt sequence in Am. GPs.  Arrive in WA by late april- early May.  Adults that come thru are in July- Early Sept.  Primaries are very worn, because they are not molted.  Do not molt primaries until in S. America.  Juveniles also do not have wing molt until in S America also.  They do molt their primaries in S. America.  So when they come back all Americans migrate north, juveniles included.   All have new fresh primaries  If a bird happens to be a non-breeding plumage you can tell it likely is a juvenile.

Pacific GPs juveniles can straggle down the coast.  Juveniles in wintering grounds do not molt their primaries.  You can tell any GP in spring that has worn primaries is a migrating Pacific GP young bird.  Most young Pac. GPs do not migrate.   Pacific GPs start their molt during incubation, and start their primary molt in AK with from 1-5 inner primaries, P1 àP5, then they suspend their molt, and finish the molt of the outer primaries on the wintering ground.  So look at the primaries to see if they are fresh or old.

The mantle of a Pac. GPs each feather has “paired golden spots”  and the American GP has only a single golden spot  is on each feather.  This gives the Pacific GP a brighter and more golden color to the mantle.

Snowy Plover: Dark legs and dark bills.  In sub adults the ends of the primaries are off color.

Semi-palmated Plover: common, easy, no discussion this class

Killdeer:  common, easy, no discussion this class

Black Oystercatcher:   easy, no discussion this class

Am. Avocet:  easy, no discussion this class

Long-necked Stilt:   easy, no discussion this class

Willet: western birds are darker and larger.

Greater Yellowlegs: Upright sandpiper with yellow legs and a long bill.  Usually greater yellowlegs are more brightly marked, have a longer primary projection. More active movement with feeding.

Solitary Sandpiper:  longer bill, striped tail, (dark stripe down the middle)  with barring on the tail, no wing stripe. Rare to uncommon in spring, uncommon (i.e. more common) in the fall in WA.   Best time is Early August to early Sept.  Usually on fresh water ponds or marshy areas.  Relaxed hold their bill out almost parallel.  Fly straight up and then come down or fly away.  3 noted call paseet-weet-weet.

Wandering Tattler:  loud call, dee-dee-dee-dee  usually seen alone, tend to be isolated.  Usually take off singly, and call when they take off.

Spotted sandpiper:  call faster, more like a trill.   Ponds, rivers.  Even seen at high elevation to 6000 feet.  Fly close to the water, fluttery wings, usually in pairs.

Whimbrel: shorter decurved bill, stripes on the head, shorter primary projection,  Usually barring on the flanks. coastal migrant in WA.

Long-biller curlew:  very long bill, no steaks on the crown, coastal migrant in the rest of the year,  as with other shorebirds, the female has the longer bill.

Marbled Godwits: Very rare in E WA, almost always coastal, in WA almost only in Gray’s Harbor and Willipa Harbor.  A lot of our Tokeland Godwits stay the summer, so apparently many are young birds that oversummer.

Bar-tailed Godwit: wider eyestripe behind the eye, grayer, usually in the fall, If seen in the spring adult male will be red underneath,

Ruddy Turnstone:  450K worldwide, many more on the east coast. In WA uncommon to fairly common in springtime, uncommon in fall.  Ruddys will feed in a wide variety of habitat, more so than black turnstones.

Black Turnstone:  80-95K in North America, 80% plus nest in a single river delta in AK.

Surfbird:  white band on tail, thick ploverlike bill.

Rock Sandpiper:  Shaped like a dunlin, breeding rufous over the head. Two-tone bill.

Red Knot:  In breeding plumage brick red breast, whitish edged feathers on back, light crown.  White belly.  Only 20K breed in AK.   Ours fly from S. Am. And have very specific staging areas.  Fly from S. America, stop and stage and fatten up for 2-3 weeks, and then go off to breeding grounds. Rare in the fall in WA.

Sanderling: whitest winter shorebird in WA.

Dunlin: bigger than western sandpiper.  Whole back, scapulars and coverts are red in spring, in fall don’t return in numbers until Oct. Prebasic molt on the breeding grounds, and return in basic or formative plumage, rarely see juveniles.

Semipalmated sandpiper:  rare in springtime.  Most likely in E WA in inland locations, less coastally.  More plentiful in fall in WA, mostly  juveniles.  Look for blunt short bill, and brownish plumage.  Hunt more visually, less probing, more looking up, see something, run off like a plover.

Western sandpiper: In juvenile red restricted to the scapulars.

Least Sandpiper:  short bill, slightly droopy,  winter plumage almost all darker and brownish black.   Yellowish legs.

White-rumped Sandpiper;  East coast bird, migrate thru the middle of  the country,

Baird’s sandpiper: a fall migrant

Pectoral Sandpiper:  again mostly fall,

Upland Sandpiper: nest again in E WA near Spokane.  Short wings, long tail projection past wings.’

Ruffs: a few spring adult records, most juveniles in fall.  Variable legs, yellow to orange.   Short bill.  Male much larger, male

Short-billed Dowicher:  Rufous underside, white belly. Usually LB has pinkish belly in spring.  Usually short billed has thicker base of the bill, and the top of the bill slopes gradually.  Tend to have flat backs when feeding.  Big flocks on salt water in spring are invariably short billed.  Small flocks on fresh water could be either.  Individual LBs can be mixed in a large SB flock.   3S’s of short billed, salt water, spotted on breast, short bill.  Covert molt in SB is irregular.

Our species is the Carinis subspecies.

Long-billed Dowicher:  Coverts dark centered with broad white tips in alt. plumage, so LB look brighter above in spring.  Coverts usually uniformly molted.   Wings shorter.  Shorter primary projection.

Stilt sandpiper:  long legs, droopy bill,

Wilson’s Snipe: next week

Spring Class Notes 2010 – Class 1

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I thought as the peak of spring migration is just around the corner it is timely to put up notes from a previous spring class.  The most recent relatively complete notes I have is the 2010 spring class, as in 2011 I just listened and used old notes.

4-20-10 Class #1 Spring

Field Trips:

This class will be more of an impressionistic class

Bring the shorebirds molt and voice worksheet to class each time.

Strategies for molt.

Simple basic- start in juvenile, go a year in juvenile, then have one molt annually into a basic plumage.  (like hawks)

Complex basic:  juvenile à formative plumage, the annual molt into basic plumage. (like towhee)

Simple alternate:  juvenile à pre alternate moltà pre basic à …  (like loons?)

Complex Alternate: Juvenileà formativeà pre-alternateà pre basic à pre alternateà …  (like most songbirds)

Pre-basic molt is complete, all feathers.

Pre-alternate molt is incomplete, usually not flight feathers, other feathers vary by species.

Short distance migrants molt on breeding grounds or in staging areas.  Long distance migrants may start molt on breeding grounds, then suspend the molt, and finish on the wintering ground as they cannot both migrate and molt simultaneously.

Birds have a complete molt in the fall

Birds have an incomplete in spring into alternate head, body, all scapulars, and maybe some wing feathers.

Terms used to describe the extent of a molt, usually the pre-alternate molt:

Partial:  head,  in spring into alternate head  body, few covets and some scapulars

Limited:  in spring into alternate head and a few body feathers

These are the common Western WA shorebirds you should know for our upcoming trip.  BBPL, both yellowlegs, dowichers, dunlin, Least SP, Western SP à plan to know these by voice  before the coast trip.

A Shorebird year starting Jan 1:

As early as Jan and as late as June, shorebirds are entering pre-alternate molt.  By the time shorebirds get to WA the adults are usually in full alternate plumage.  Most juveniles stay on wintering grounds, but some young birds may migrate in their basic plumage and others of the same species may have a PA molt into an adult or near adult alternate plumage.

The migration thru WA is in a rush, usually in late April- early May.

Adults usually nest as soon as they get to breeding grounds, usually in mid may to early June.

Failed breeders and some young birds almost immediately head back.

Young birds are in downy plumage for about a month and then go into juvenile plumage.

First after failed breeders back are females in worn plumage, followed by males in worn plumage a week or so later.  Then a week or two later, or sometimes much later, are bright fresh juveniles.  Going on their own,  at 1-2 months of age.

PB molt in some adults can start as a limited molt even on the nest, or on the breeding ground.

Suspend molt of remiges (flight feathers in spring into alternate head) and rectrices (tail feathers) until on or near the breeding ground.

On wintering grounds birds finish their wing and tail molt.  Those who winter in NA may finish their molt at stopovers.

Juveniles start their PB 1 molt somewhere between Sept and Oct and end by Dec.  This is a formative type plumage, incomplete in most species vs. adults having a complete molt into basic plumage.

Impression:  Next week come prepared to concisely discuss whatever bird we are identifying.

As a homework assignment do a walk or go into back yard and bird by ear and without binoculars.  Use GISS not binos.

We will also work on expected location, time of year, habitat, behavior, relative size, etc.

We will look a lot at structure, legs, bill, neck, wing and primary projection, head structure.  Look at feeding behavior, voice.

Last we will look at plumage impression.  White belly dowicher is short billed, long billed don’t have white bellies.

Dunlin grayish with a dark breast, Western SP brownish above with white breast.

Get a copy of the Howell Shorebird guide. Much of Ken’s comments are there and so you can avoid the need to take so many notes.

Molt:

Remiges and Rectrices:

Primaries numbered 1-10 and molt begins on the innermost primary (1) and moves outward.  Secondaries are numbered outward to inward, and so P1 is beside S1.  Secondary molt begins after primary molt is about half way done.  It moves from outside in.  This results in gaps in the wing feathers.  If you see these gaps it usually means the bird will molt in NA.  Some birds molt at staging grounds (like LBDO)  vs. SBDO does not molt primaries until on the wintering ground.

IN spring you see nice fresh feathers on the head, scapulars and the bodies.  Fresh feathers have nice well defined patterns, and old feathers have the fringes and patterns on the edges worn off, sometimes serrated or saw tooth edges.  Dark pigments wear tougher, lighter feathers wear faster.

Juveniles have usually white edges on scapulars and coverts.

Old feathers tend to look frayed on the edges and can droop more, not as stiff.   As they droop more they eventually fall out.  Old feathers tend to be more pointed as they wear, more rounded when they are fresh, and as they wear off the white or buff rounded edges they become more pointed.

Good example of feather wear is the Least Sandpiper.   In spring highly patterned with light tipped feathers,  very patterned.  When they come back in the fall they are darker with less patterning on the top.  In August you will see fresh juveniles, and worn adults. Later the juveniles will look more worn, and the adults are going thru PB molt and will look much sharper and fresh.

 

Species accounts:

Black bellied Plovers:  all year have black axillars, wing stripe, the biggest plover, blocky, on mud flats, on open beaches, roost on upper beach, golf courses.  Upland species also. More west, but also E of Cascades.  3 syllable loud  plaintive   Plee-uu-ee lower in pitch than golden plovers.  Up until PB2 molt you can age juveniles by their worn primaries.  Especially in spring.  Listen for calls in flight.   GISS, chunky, thick necked, heavier bill than golden plovers, note 240 gm vs. 130-140 grams for goldens. Seen spring and fall.

Pacific Golden Plover: lower pitched, emphasis on second syllable, variable pitch  mostly seen in the fall. Buffy, In spring white on flanks, appear to be front heavy, look like they could tip over forward, larger head, rounder body, stand taller, shorter wing projection and longer primary projection of 4 feathers.   Have a molt that does not include the primaries.  So in the springtime look at the primaries, and in first year pacifics have worn primaries all the way until June or July, so very worn.   So if you see a golden plover in spring with worn primaries it is Pacific.   Pacific adults molt the inner primaries on the breeding grounds (Americans do not)   So inner 5 primaries will be fresh in adults in migration in fall.

American Golden-plover:  In spring stripe ends before the flank, more slim, more attenuated, not as plump, longer primary and wing projection.   No wing stripe. Dark tailed.    One tone note, two syllables.   Have a complete fall molt, between Oct- Dec. includes the primaries.   First year Americans have fresh primaries.  In migration American GPs do not molt their primaries until on the breeding grounds.

Mountain Plover:  pale all over, big headed, thick necked, short grass or plowed fields, loose flocks.

Killdeer:   slim, long tailed, small bill.

Snowy Plover:  drrrp toor-eeet  call.  Light plovers with dark legs and dark bills, longer and slimmer than semi-palmated, tend to be front heavy.

Piping Plover:    two tone bill, orange legs.  More attenuated, not front heavy, tiny bill. 

Wilson’s Plover:  light legs, dark above, larger and front heavy, large head and bill, thick bill.  Usually on upper beach.

Semi-palmated Plover:  two syllable note, chu-eep.   Come through very early in the fall, often in July.

Black Oystercatcher:  Bulky, short thick neck, long thick bill

American Oystercatcher:  southern coasts, sandy beaches, two toned, also mud flats.

American Avocet:  Alkali ponds, E WA, rare in migration on W side, larger than black necked stilts. Chunky.  Loud PLEET CALL.  Gather in large groups to molt in migration in fall.

Black-necked Stilt:   slim body, long legs, needle-like bill, alkali ponds, very rare in migration on W side.  Yip-Yip-Yip loud call

Greater Yellowlegs:  higher more strident 3 noted call    Two times the weight of lesser, long upturned bill, look like they have an Adams apple, bulge on front of the neck.  Pick and chase.  Scurry around the pond.  Seen all year round, numerous spring and fall.  Pattern above and stripes on upper neck.

Lesser Yellowlegs:  slim-chested, smooth body contour, straight bill, more methodical scything movements as it walks, usually does not run.  Walks steadily.   Unusual  in spring, either E or W side.  Usually fresh water ponds.  Seen as early as July 1 in fall thru. Sept.  rare after September.

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.