Hi all,
I have been keeping an eye on the puddles in the RFK Stadium parking lot for several weeks now on my way in to work hoping for shorebirds. Flocks of up to about 11 Least Sandpipers have been common over the last two weeks or so, but this morning I found a WESTERN SANDPIPER in a flock of 16 Least Sandpipers in the largest puddle by the portable cell tower. The larger size of this bird when compared to the Leasts, the black legs, and overall greyer plumage put it in the Western/Semi group, and the strongly rufous scapulars and long, drooping bill tipped the scales for Western.
Good birding,
-Wayne Baumgartner
Washington, DC
--
|