Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis tschuktschorum) 28 January 2007 - Ballona Creek Mouth, Playa del Rey, Los Angeles, California. Photo © 2007 Joseph Morlan
This is an uncommon winter visitor to rocky coasts of Northern California, but extremely rare in Southern California. This individual was found 22 November 2006 by Jon Fisher and Barbara Johnson and is the first Rock Sandpiper in Los Angeles County since the winter of 1966-67. Previously there have been five different winter sightings at the Playa del Rey jetties from 1958 to 1967. In winter plumage, the Rock Sandpiper is almost identical to the Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) which ranges in similar habitat in the North Atlantic. In general, the Rock Sandpiper is duller, with more yellowish legs and bill base compared to the more orange colors on the Purple Sandpiper. Also, Rock Sandpiper usually appears more coarsely marked on its neck and breast than Purple Sandpiper and it lacks the purple sheen on the upperparts of that species. There are three subspecies of Rock Sandpiper. The large pale C. p. ptilocnemis which breeds on the Pribilof Islands and winters in Alaska (rarely south to Washington state), the small dark C. p. couesi which breeds on the Aleutians where it is largely resident, and the intermediate C. p. tschuktschorum which breeds on mainland Alaska and winters south to California. Olympus D-550z / Nikon FieldScope 3 / 30XWA (hand-held - no adapter). |