All three Hudsonian Godwits were present at the Field 7 pools this afternoon (Friday ca. 2:00 pm), along with two American Golden-Plovers and a Long-billed Dowitcher.
The godwit with the injured right leg is an adult, and it also has gruesome injuries on its right wing. The other two are juvs, one of which has large tumors on its head and on its left leg. The injured bird looks like it might have flown into a wire, or something like that. The tumors remind me of similar growths we see on shorebirds from time to time, especially on individuals that over-summer on Long Island. I've never learned what causes these tumors, so if anyone has any insights, they would be much appreciated. Accounts of tumor-afflicted shorebirds on LI: http://www.nybirds.org/KBsearch/y2010v60n4/y2010v60n4rgn10.pdf# http://www.nybirds.org/KBsearch/y2006v56n4/y2006v56n4rgn10.pdf# Photos of the Heckscher Hudsonian Godwits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96951581@N02/? Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Ken Feustel [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2017 2:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [nysbirds-l] Hudsonian Godwits at Heckscher State Park (Suffolk Co.) Three Hudsonian Godwits made an appearance at the Field 7 pools this morning. I am unsure who found them originally, but they were probably present as early as 9;00AM. The three godwits were a beaten and battered bunch, with one bird having a sizable tumor on his head and another on his leg. A second bird had a bad leg that he could barely walk on, choosing to sit down in the parking lot when he was not feeding. I was originally notified of the birds presence while at West End when a photographer said that he had seen a "Long-billed Dowitcher” with tumors on his body. Having seen that species a few times at Heckscher this Fall I did not rush off. Thankfully, a call from Doug Futuyma alerting me to the godwits presence (thanks Doug!) found me watching the waterfowl at the Field 6 picnic area puddle and a quick drive over to Field 7 produced the three godwits. Field 7 was very active, with cars coming and going frequently. In a short time two of the godwits flew off heading west, while the bird with the bad leg stayed. Also present were a continuing Lesser Yellowlegs (1, Field 6 picnic area), Long-billed Dowitcher (1), American Golden Plover(2), and a late juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper. I will post a few photos of the godwits later on my flick site. Cheers, Ken Feustel http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfeustel/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA<http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
