Adam Paul

This class focused on a number of rarely-seen shorebird species on pgs. 164 & 166 of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

We started with a discussion of recent sightings, with one woman seeing an Arctic Warbler in the Mojave Desert the prior weekend.

Arctic Warbler:

• summers & breeds in Alaska, wintering in South-east Asia.
• heads to Alaska in time for the mosquitoes, their prey, to hatch
• some “wrong-way” migrants occasionally head down the North American coast
• are an Old World Warbler
• are difficult to separate from other warblers in genus Phylloscopus, which has ~35 species in Europe, most of which look very similar
• is the only Old World Warbler that breeds in North America

Joe recommended that we check out bird photographer Bob Steele, calling him one of the best bird photographers working today.

On to pg. 164: Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Redshank and Spotted Redshank

Common Greenshank (COGR):

• size & shape of Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE)
• fills the same ecological niche as GRYE in Europe
• regular migrant to the Western Alaskan islands
• not known to breed in North America
• occasionally seen in the continental US
• 1 or 2 records in California
• greenish legs, not as barred on the flanks as a GRYE
• white rump extends up back, as in dowitchers, and unlike GRYE
• is in genus Tringa
• wings are all dark, like other Tringa
• habits are same as Yellowlegs

Spotted Redshank (SPRE):

• black w/whitish belly
• red-based bill that droops slightly @ the tip
• distinctive plumage, especially alternate plumage, but have been confused with oil-coated Yellowlegs before
• between GRYE & Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE) in size
• has white back, like COGR above
• in basic plumage, looks rather like Stilt Sandpiper (STSA), but STSA has a different leg color and a whiter rump

Common Redshank (CORE):

• distinct white trailing edge of wing
• has white back, a la COGR & SPRE above

Marsh Sandpiper (MASA):

• very rare migrant to Alaska, no records in the US anywhere else
• also has white wedge its back, like all EurAsian Tringa, and unlike all North American Tringa

On to pg. 166: Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, and Terek Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper (WOSA):

• regularly seen in spring in the Aleutians and sometimes breeds there
• yellow to greenish legs
• heavier spotting than Solitary Sandpiper (SOSA)
• short’ish bill
• whiter supercilium thna SOSA
• a WOSA was once found in a SOSA specimen tray in western New York State; this was discovered to be the first record (1940s) of a WOSA in North America
• “dumpy” and inactive compared to other Tringa
• has been seen in Southern California once
• short bill has a thick-looking base, unlike a LEYE

It’s not uncommon to have mid-IDed specimens in collections, as not all curators are experts, and identifying specimens is different than ID’ing live birds, which is different from ID’ing birds from photographs. Several other first records have been found this way, mis-filed in another species’ tray.

Green Sandpiper (GRSA):

• Joe has no photos of them – a slide labeled as a GRSA from the ViREO collection looks much more like a Wood Sandpiper
• GRSA fills Solitary Sandpiper (SOSA) niche in EurAsia
• extremely rare in Alaska, no records in California

Solitary Sandpiper (SOSA):

• smaller than LEYE
• Yellowlegs-like, similiar habits
• favors inland freshwater habitat, including sewer ponds
• migrate mostly east of California
• small #s are seen in April, August & September along coastal California
• can be confused with Spotted Sandpiper (SPSA)
• bobs its head rather than pumping its tail, as does SPSA
• striking eye ring
• tail white with even black bars
• may have slightly decurved bill
• darker than Yellowlegs
• very rare in California in the winter

Check out whatbird.com – another bird ID site, although I think I prefer BirdForum

Terek Sandpiper (TESA):

• sole member of the Xenus genus
• about the size of a Tattler
• forages on rocky shores
• has upturned, Avocet-like bill, length about 2x the head diameter
• short yellow legs and short neck give it a “stump” appearance
• has been seen (exactly once) at the mouth of the Carmel River
• uniformly grey above
• has black-edged scapulars
• is not a common bird anywhere in the world
• has white supercilium in front of eye

We closed with “name that bird.”  The photo Joe asked me to ID seemed to me to be a Lesser Yellowlegs, which he and the class agreed with.