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Posted by Trey on 05:04:12 08/30/06
In Reply to: Re: Pre-"Storm" Birding - Black Point / Dump Marsh posted by Shorebird???
The "Peep" in the photos wasn't small enough to be a Least and although the
legs are light, they really aren't yellow, At first I thought the bird was a
Western because of the bill length and the way it drooped, but the bill was thin
compared to other Western bills I have seen. Also the bird in the photo appeared
more grey than brown. There was no rufous on the scapulars like the Western
Sandpipers I have seen recently. I went with my impression for the ID.
So after your question I did some research and found in "Shorebirds of North
America, the photographic guide" that it states that the eastern non-breeding
Semipalmated Sandpipers in are indistinguishable from non-breeding Western
Sandpipers.
In my reading to answer your query, I found that in the east some female
Semipalmated Sandpiper have very long bills and that rather than having a blunt
end, they tend to be thinner tipped as with the bird in the photo.
But it also says that fortunately the the east Western Sandpiper aren't
usually in full molt before the Semipalmated Sandpipers, making it more likely
that at the same time Western Sandpipers would have more contrast between the
rufous upper scapulars and the paler lower scapulars.
So, my best guess is still that the bird is a fully molted non-breeding
Semipalmated Sandpiper.
But, I could be wrong since there really isn't definitive way to ID the bird
at this stage with out having the bird in hand.
I'm going with Semipalmated and it definitely isn't a Least Sandpiper.
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