Weekend Shorebirds - 04 Aug 2019

Water levels are getting dangerously low here in Cell 1, and it is not looking like rain will save it from completely drying by mid-week. In the meantime, a nice mix of shorebirds made for some good digiscoping.

Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus hendersonni) were still around. These are all adult birds as evidenced by worn back feathers. Slender profile also differentiates them from the much thicker-looking Long-billed Dowitchers that will mostly be sporting gray basic feathers already (LBDOs tend to molt during migration while SBDOs won't molt until they reach their winter haunts in the south).

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) continue, as well. However, the majority of birds this weekend are juveniles. Note the clean, fresh back feathers and white spotting along the fringes. Also note the smudging on face, neck and chest that is typical of most juvenile shorebird species. Bill length is similar in adults; approximately 1X the width of the head. Also note their foraging habit of sweeping head side-to-side.

Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) outnumber the Least Sandpipers better than 10:1 right now. Note the overall gray-black pale profiles relative to the browner, warmer Least Sandpipers. These birds are all adults as evidenced by the mix of gray and black back feathers mixed with dull, worn feathers. Their necklace gets smudgy this time of year with a mix of blotchy chevrons that just reach the edges of the flanks. Short, blunt bills are relatively straight, but some birds will appear larger with more elongated bills, so they can be mistaken for White-rumped, Western, or Baird's Sandpipers (which have not arrived, yet).

More later.