I have seen one non breeding Dunlin at Cupsogue week before last (single
observation) and 2 last week with Shai and Pat.
As Steve noted, this is not unexpected at Cupsoge. What was surprising even
earlier were Dunlins in breeding plumage seen with Tom Burke and Gail Benson,
at that time we were wondering what they were doing at Cuosogue so early.
風 Swift as the wind
林 Quiet as the forest
火 Conquer like the fire
山 Steady as the mountain
Sun Tzu The Art of War
> (\__/)
> (= '.'=)
> (") _ (")
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device!
Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com
> On Jul 17, 2015, at 6:42 PM, Steve Walter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Cupsogue is known to harbor non-breeding shorebirds (often in basic plumage)
> right through June and into July. Short-billed Dowitchers may be foremost in
> this category, but Dunlin would be there too. Therefore, Dunlin in July is
> not so unexpected and not dependent on birds returning from the breeding
> grounds.
>
> Steve Walter
> Bayside, NY
>
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Angus Wilson
> Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2015 10:42 PM
> To: NYSBIRDS-L
> Cc: Arie Gilbert
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Shorebird ID dilemma
>
> Separation of basic-plumage Dunlin and Curlew Sandpiper can be quite
> challenging outside of alternate plumage, especially in the New World where
> the predominant subspecies of Dunlin (hudsonia and pacifica) have longer
> bills that their European and Asian counterparts. In fact the bills of North
> American Dunlin are often equivalent in length to Curlew Sandpiper, a point
> that may not be adequately addressed in European guides.
>
> A long time ago I prepared a web page that touches on this topic:
>
> http://www.oceanwanderers.com/BSmallSHorebird.html
>
> The lengthy commentaries at the bottom of this page and spilling over onto
> additional pages, testifies to the knotty nature of this ID problem.
>
> Looking at Arie's photos of the Cupsogue bird, my inclination is to call it a
> Dunlin. The body seems too chunky for Curlew Sand, lacking the more gangly
> profile of the latter species. The legs of Curlew Sands always seems a little
> too long and spindly for their body and bill, but this bird has better
> proportions, fitting with the proposed ID as a Dunlin. The bill is long, but
> as I said above, this is typical of many female hudsonian Dunlins. Lastly,
> the bird has a fairly uniform smear of light spotting across the upper
> breast, which again is a pro-Dunlin feature.
>
> In terms of date, I believe we are still early for most returning Dunlin but
> the rules are far from absolute and probably of no use in terms of
> identifiying individual birds. I will add that this is not an juvenile of
> either species, which makes sense. As I recall Dunlin juveniles rarely move
> south before late August and show rows of dark centered scapulars, which I
> cannot detect in the photos. Juvenile Curlew Sand is buffer in color with a
> unique patterning on the upperparts.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Angus Wilson
> New York City, NY
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