Posted by Vince on May 02, 2004 at 20:46:34:
All:
Since I know several TAS birders are planning on coming over to Naples to see the Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers, I thought I'd post this message. . . .
Late this afternoon, I made another foray to Eagle Lakes Park in Naples to look for the Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers that have been there off-and-on over the last few weeks. When I arrived, Marie Gonsalo, Georgia Nef and Arthur Sissman (hope I got your last name right Arthur!) had already been there for quite some time. The three of them had already seen the Baird's Sandpiper and we began looking for it again along with any White-rumped Sandpipers that might be about. We located a White-rumped rather quickly and then Marie found a bird she was confident was the Baird's to the left of the gazebo. Not being all that familiar with Baird's Sandpiper (who in south Florida is??) and being a healthy skeptic, I needed to be more convinced of course. As I had seen a Baird's earlier last week and several White-rumps since that time, I wanted to study this bird so that the identification was solid, at least for me, and to see if this bird was the same Baird's that was present from last week. (I don't think it is the same bird.)
My three co-birders left after another fifteen minutes or so and I went back to my car to bring out my shorebird 'library' with me. The books i had along included Hayman et al's "Shorebirds: An Identification Guide," Paulson's "Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest," Richards' "Shorebirds of North America" and of course my Sibley field guide.
I was able to get within 25 feet of the target bird and sat down on a small dry islet at the base of a cypress tree where I watched this bird with long primary projection and coarsely mottled upperparts intently for 1.5 hours. On several occasions, as this aggressive bird shooed away intruders from its 'space', I was able to see that the tail was mostly brown with a little bit of white to the sides. The bill was not as blunt or 'tubular' nor 'droopy' as the few Semipalmated Sandpipers (juveniles can look similar to juvenile Baird's cf. Paulson page 250) or White-rumped Sandpipers nearby. Nor was there any trace of orange on the lower mandible of this bird, just black as were the feet. The breast was finely streaked and the streaks did not reach the flanks. The belly was pure white. The bird fed mainly along the edges of the islets although sometimes it went into the water but only briefly. It seemed to feed faster and more 'nervously' that the surrounding Least Sandpipers.
What baffled me about this bird is that the crown was streaked with fine rufous lines or at least that is how it appeared to me when the sun hit the bird at the correct angle. (BTW, the late afternoon sun was perfect, and had I had a camera with me, photo ops were many.) There seemed to be a little bit of rufous color on the ear coverts as well. Are Baird's supposed to have this coloration at this time of year? In what plumage?
To sum it all up, I am now positive what I saw this afternoon was a Baird's Sandpiper. (See Marie, I too came to the same conclusion, only it took me longer!) What is needed are some 'definitive' photos of this bird. Where are all of those photographers with their digital cameras and interchageable lenses when you need them? Wish I could afford one!
P.S. There were also quite a few other shorebirds present, including both yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper (few), Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilts (nesting), Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin and probably others. . . .