feb 1
dowitcher sp, upper newport bay, ca
Dowitchers in basic plumage are not my specialty. Not that I could boast that Dowitchers in alternate plumage are my specialty either, mind you. I just have the teensiest bit more experience with that. This flock was not vocalizing, nor did I hear any flight calls. The Long-billed flocks I witnessed at Bolsa Chica last week were chattering away. I have my ideas, but am interested to hear from others. Any thoughts are appreciated. Plus, cool about the flexing bill.
This entry was written by Catherine , posted on Sunday February 01 2009at 06:02 pm , filed under Birds, Futility, Trips |
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Tough call based on this photo. TO ME at first blush they all sort of look like Long-billeds based on (1)sides of face seem just gray not heavily streaked, though right-most bird seems like it “could” have some streaking, maybe. But this is tough to see. (2) Dull, not strongly patterned flanks, that seem to have “smudgy” bars; (3) “subtly dark-centered scaps” (Crossly et al); (4) can’t get a clear look at breast which would have helped. (5) looks like in bird on left I can detect a pale greenish color to base of bill, but I cannot be sure of this, being a digital photo; Is it me , or do the legs have a greenish tinge too? (see left bird) (6) Supercilium quality tough to judge because of position of birds. (7) Sibley makes a lot of feeding posture, flat backed for Short-billeds. The right two seem more hunch-backed. Any other photos? If Short-billeds, not caurinus, which is really the darkest ssp. Throw a rock at ‘em: that’ll make ‘em call.
The flexible bill tip (found in other long-billed species), allows the bird to probe deep in mud, grab a worm just with the tip (in this case a polychaete) and withdraw the bill. There are nerve endings right to the tip, making it very sensitive to invert movements and tastes.
Are you seeing any siskins there? We found what may be an example of the southwestern ssp, Bonaparte, but I need some other photos for comparison. See Sheila’s blog.
Mark
Not seeing any Siskins here. I saw Sheila’s post and thought it seemed plausible!
I thought they were Short-billed at the time, and having reviewed the photos of the Long-billed from the week before am still thinking that. Tough to gauge from this photo, though (I picked this one for the bill, obvy), so I’ll post some more for comparison tomorrow & see what you think.
Catherine:
Why did you think Short-billeds? Please post some more photos. Glad you posted them. This shows that contrary to popular notions, you can have a perfectly great photo of a bird and still not be able to ID it. We came across that situation in the MARC several times with hummers; gulls and shorebirds.
SISKINS: I think it might be a deal here as there are no recerds for MA of that ssp, but truthfully I don’t think anyone was looking. I don’t even know if they are in SoCa. Maybe the mtns of NM and AZ only? Have you ever seen siskins in the SW?
Mark
I would say Long-billed. The light flank barring, overall rather stocky build of the bird, and angle of the supercilium in relation to the bill all points towards Long-billed.
Happy Birding! –Chris
OK – I have finally posted more photos, and shown a little why I thought these were Short-billed. See Feb 19 entry…