Adam Paul

We dug right in, continuing on page 186 of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America with Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Ruff.  Like many of the shorebirds we’ve been studying this semester, these are birds I have not personally seen, and which are fairly-to-very rare in the SF region.

Upland Sandpiper (UPSA)

• declining species of the prairies
• extremely rare in California – Joe has never seen one in California
• 22 records in California, 5 of which are from the Farallon Islands.  Most of these have been “one day wonders” that did not hang around
• are probably about as prevalent on Point Reyes as they are on te Farallons, but the terrain at Point Reyes would camouflage them very well
• not fond of coasts – usually seen on sod, plowed fields, etc
• is in its own genus (for now – this is debated)
• used to be called the “Upland Plover”
• recent DNA data suggest that it is a member of the Curlew group, sharing its overall mottled brown appearance, and white outer primary shaft with those birds
• have distinct calls
• are nocturnal migrants, migrating long distances
• have prominent eye and eye ring
• are long-tailed
• have shallow wingbeats
• suffered heavily from market hunting in late 1800s/early 1900s
• like to perch on fenceposts and such on breeding and wintering grounds
• used to breed as far west as Oregon
• have a stripey face and a pale-based bill
• are long-necked and have a tiny head (“pinheads”)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (BBSA)

• suffered extensively from market hunting in the late 19th/early 20th century, may still be hunted in South Americ.  They probably numbered in the millions prior to this hunting.
• most BBSA sightings in California are juveniles seen in the fall
• there are 2 spring records in California
• breed in the high Arctic
• are vagrant in EurAsia and North America, scarce along the coasts
• prefer grassy fields, sewer ponds, golf courses, not usually found on beaches
• adults are buffy overall
• juvenile’s mantle feathers are edged in white or light buffy, black centers
• large circular eye with a faint eyering
• very long primary projection
• “high step” through grass, bobbing their head, looking somwhat “ridiculous”
• often unshy of humans
• were historically scarce in California, but after 120 records, they were removed from the CBRC review list
• top of head is scaly-looking
• “jowled” look due to mandibular feathering
• larger than a Dunlin
• long yellow legs, plain face with no markings, mandibular feathering, and short bill distinguish BBSA from Baird’s Sandpiper
• probably as many records in the UK as in California, and even an Australian record.  These birds can “wander” widely!
• act almost chicken-like
• in flight, show gleaming white wing linings and a gray crescent on the tip of the underwing primary coverts (if you can see those feathers, which you often can’t)
• in flight, all dark above with no wing or tail stripes
• have a lek-like breeding system with no pair bonding

Ruff

• rare, but regular, on East & West US coast
• worldwide, one of the most abundant Paleo-arctic birds
• have nested in Alaska
• are famous for their lekking behavio
  • males gather to display and impress the females
  • the Ruff is so-named for the feathers the males spread when lekking.   These feathers are very variable from individual to individual, with some having red, some white, some speckled, and so on.
• substantial sexual size dimorphism
• we typically see winter birds in California
• legs are red, orange, or yellow in males, yellowish in females, greenish in juveniles
• scaly back with gray-edged feathers in basic plumage
• small head compared to body – also “pinheaded.”
• are aggressive, hence their scientific name of Philomachus pugnax (think “pugnacious”)
• do not have a buffy face
• Joe observed one Ruff bullying a group of Black Turnstones, chasing them from rock to rock, then following them when they tried to escape it!
• larger than a Dowitcher
• little or no primary projection
• are not long-tailed
• alternate-plumaged birds have black spots on their chest
• pale-based bill in alternate-plumaged males
• mantle feathers are often raised
• juveniles can be confused with BBSA or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, but they have buffy rather than the BBSA’s white-edge scapulars, and lack the white supercilium and red cap of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
• juveniles have slight streaking in their mantle, and have a trace of an eye ring, and a dark eye line.  They’re gray buff overall
• Ruff’s eyes look small compared to the “wide-eyed” look of BBSA or UPSA
• female Ruffs used to be called “Reeves.”
• not much of a wing stripe in flight
• U-shaped pattern in uppertail coverts seen in flight – the white sides of the tail join in a white bar at/near the tip of the tail
• can be mistaken for other Calidris, since most all of them also have white-edged tails
• have a slight droop at the tip of their bill

We concluded with our usual slide-identification quiz.  I got 10 out of 20 right – ouch!  I’m doing reasonably well with the 3 common peeps (Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper), but have trouble with Rock Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, and all of the Stints.