May 2001 Mystery Birds

This shorebird was photographed at the Salinas ponds, Monterey County, 29 August 1986. What species is it? To view public comments or join the fray by adding your opinion, click here. Have fun!
Photo © Peter LaTourrette
All rights reserved.
I believe this bird is a somewhat atypical Least Sandpiper. Least Sandpiper usually shows a short, very fine tipped bill unlike the more massive bill seen here. At first I thought it might be a Western Sandpiper because of its bill. In fact it bears a striking resemblance to the photo of a Western Sandpiper on the upper right corner of page 251 in Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest by Dennis Paulson. Several commentators mentioned the yellowish-looking legs but the legs look dark on my monitor. The legs of Least Sandpiper often appear dark when covered with mud as in this case. Or perhaps it's just an artifact of different computer hardware.

The bird is clearly in juvenal plumage, showing crisp feather edgings outlining each feather. Adult shorebirds usually show a more mottled appearance without clear definitions to the individual feathers. The scapular pattern seemed to cause considerable confusion. In most poses, the long scapular feathers hang down to cover most of the wing-coverts. In this bird, all the wing coverts, including median and lesser coverts are exposed. The reason is that the three rows of lower scapulars are raised up above the wing. I don't think these feathers are molted or missing. I agree it would be quite unusual for a juvenile shorebird to be molting scapulars in August. An excellent comparison of how the appearance of shorebirds can change with scapular positioning is on page 19 of The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Sibley.

One feature that eliminates Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and most other contenders is the complete lack of primary projection. On most shorebirds, the black primaries extend beyond the tips of the folded tertials. Least Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint are exceptions in which the tertials completely cover the primaries. Long-toed Stint should have white fringes to the median coverts and usually a pale base to the lower mandible instead of the buff median covert fringes and dark mandible seen here. It is possible that this is the same individual as the one essayed for the September 1999 mystery.

I continue to be indebted to those contributors whose comments and analyses make this feature interesting.

Now, how about those dowitchers? Can we get a definitive answer please?

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