Yes, we thought the trip a great success, especially for the chance to really compare the immature Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers side by side. The longer we looked at these birds with Dave, the more differences we were able to discern. I especially appreciated having Dave get us focused on the difference in the tertial markings, and to study and discuss these birds together. Despite the rain, Ken got a couple of digiscoped photos-- the first shows plumage differences (LB left, SB right) and the second shows general shape and color differences (LB right, SB left).
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmorton/15133382240"; title="Immature Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers, Montezuma NWR 9-21-2014 by Diane Morton, on Flickr"><img src=" https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3910/15133382240_1883f787f3.jpg"; width="500" height="286" alt="Immature Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers, Montezuma NWR 9-21-2014"></a> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmorton/15319738112"; title="Immature Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, Montezuma NWR 9-21-14 by Diane Morton, on Flickr"><img src=" https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5595/15319738112_143e67a680.jpg"; width="500" height="301" alt="Immature Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, Montezuma NWR 9-21-14"></a> Diane On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 11:09 PM, Dave Nutter <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, it rained after awhile, but not as drenching as a couple recent times > I've been on the K-M dike. And the shorebirds were very flighty, perhaps > due to a couple of Peregrine Falcons, making it difficult to scan through > any group, let alone share IDs. And the breeze made scopes vibrate. And > several flocks of shorebirds appeared to depart. And it was work to pick > out the few individuals which were not Pectoral Sandpipers. But I must > disagree with the early assessment of low diversity according to a few > birders who departed precipitately when precipitation began. > > The following shorebirds were seen (by me; please say if you found others) > on todays K-M dike field trip: > > American Golden-Plover - 1 juvenile on mud of Puddler with Killdeer as I > left; reportedly fled Peregrine earlier > Killdeer - 1 on mud of Puddler as I left; 1 heard overhead with departing > Yellowlegs flock as I arrived > Semipalmated Plover - 1 feeding & flying with large flock of Pectorals, etc > Greater Yellowlegs - several, mostly in deep NE water of K-M, also > conveniently next to Lesser in Puddler > Lesser Yellowlegs - flock(s) of a dozen or so > Pectoral Sandpiper - scores; the overwhelming number > Stilt Sandpiper - 2 seen together, but fairly close > Sanderling - 1 on distant mud, but seen well by many > White-rumped Sandpiper - 3, including one limping with somewhat injured > left leg, among Pectorals > Baird's Sandpiper - 1, among Pectorals, found fairly early & shown to a > few others, but then lost > Semipalmated Sandpiper - distant second in abundance > Least Sandpiper - 1 seen by me; someone else mentioned seeing 4 > Short-billed Dowitcher - 4 > Long-billed Dowitcher - 2 > > Most participants will recall only a single dowitcher, if any. The above > dowitcher numbers & IDs were a treat for Diane Morton, Kenneth Kemphues, & > myself who stayed long after everyone else. We found a dowitcher trio, and > after considerable distant viewing through rain, we and they moved > progressively closer, and the light got better, until we were confident of > distinguishing 2 juvenile Long-billeds and 1 juvenile Short-billed by each > of several criteria: size, shape, general color, superciliary, and tertial > pattern (but not bill length, which was equal, although the Long-billeds' > bills were thicker). Then we saw 2 more dowitchers in distant water to test > our new skills: our initial assessment of them as Short-billed was verified > when they joined the previous trio allowing direct comparison of each the > above field marks. I found the 4th Short-billed in the distance between > mudflats, but it was less cooperative, requiring faith in my recent > practice. Ken & Diane may have some worthy photos from our exercise. > > Other birds of particular interest (at least to me): > > Wood Duck - several in channel by road, at least 1 male in breeding plumage > Blue-winged Teal - 1 flushed as we arrived, and again as I left, this time > with... > Green-winged Teal - 2 > Double-crested Cormorants - many, generally moved to Puddler > Great Egret - 2 as I arrived. I saw none while our group was there. > Perhaps distant & backlit in Puddler? > Northern Harrier - 2 immatures > Bald Eagle - 1 immature settled on the mud as we arrived, later 2 were > together in the air over K-M > Sandhill Crane - 5, a family of 3 and the local pair > Peregrine Falcon - 1 immature, 1 adult or at least blue above > Warbling Vireo - 1 along Towpath Road > Cliff Swallow - 1 among numerous Tree Swallows & some Barn & Bank (& > Northern Rough-winged mentioned) > House Wren - 1 at start of Towpath Road > Tennessee Warbler - 1, ID by sharp-eyed & knowledgeable young Isaiah from > NYC; I barely saw the bird > Nashville Warbler - 1 also reported by Isaiah > Magnolia Warbler - 1 also reported by Isaiah > White-throated Sparrow - 4 on Towpath Road as I left > Savannah Sparrow - 1 along dike, 1 along Towpath Road > Swamp Sparrow - 1 along dike, 3 along Towpath Road > > The birds I saw along Towpath Road were mainly fruit-eaters, plus a couple > flycatchers, and sparrows. Among warblers, all I got decent looks at were > several Common Yellowthroats, one of which gave a strange song along the > dike. > > Again, additions from others are welcome. > > Thanks to Andrea Van Beusichem, Linda Ziemba, & everyone else at Montezuma > NWR who helped make this possible; to Paul Anderson for leading with > assistance by Susan Danskin, Dave Nicosia, Gary Kohlenberg (and others?); > and to participants from NYSOA, as well as repeat participants who may live > closer, for sharing interest and helping each other pick out and ID the > birds. > > The next (and so far as I know, final) such field trip this year is this > coming SATURDAY, 27 September, meeting at the Montezuma NWR Visitor Center > at 11am, and led by Mike Tetlow (and others?) from the Rochester Birding > Association. > > --Dave Nutter > > P.S. Apologies for my uncalled-for remark to Dave Nicosia, who as a > meteorologist is not responsible for the actual weather, which was, as usual, > accurately forecast. > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
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