Date: 3/19/13 6:11 pm
From: George M. Jett <gmjett...>
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] It's March- Dowitchers and Snipe


Jim

It is also time to be looking for Ruffs (M), and Reeves (F).

George
<gmjett...>
www.georgejett.net

From: <Jlstasz...>
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:32 PM
To: <mdbirding...>
Subject: [MDBirding] It's March- Dowitchers and Snipe

Hi Folks!

Migration is underway and birds that You haven't seen for a few months are reappearing. March is the time for the first push of dowitchers and snipe. All are superficially similar long-billed, short-legged shorebirds that probe for tasty morsels.

Wilson's Snipe will occur throughout the region wherever there is a wet meadow, marsh or muddy shoreline. Pools in cornstubble fields are great places to look. Typically You will be startled when one flushes a few feet away and zigzags away giving a sn-ick call. On the ground they are easily distinguished by the white stipes down the back, bpld face pattern and lots of dark flank stripes contrasting with a white belly.

Both Long-billed Dowitchers and Short-billed Dowitchers occur in March. Wintering Long-bills are still in their usual haunts in the coastal marshes of Worcester, Somerset and Dorchester counties. Look for them at Truitt's Landing in Worcester, Fairmont WMA and along Rumbley Point Road in Somerset, and the Bestpitch Marsh in Dorchester. Short-billed Dowitchers are just arriving on their way north and will occur in the same locations as Long-bills. Any dowitcher on the Westeren Shore of Chesapeake Bay or on the Eastern Shore north of Dorchester County needs to be carefully documented.

Dowitchers pose special problems for identification as is evidenced by longish discussions in field guides, individual identification articles in periodicals,and their inclusion in advanced birding guides. Making thoings even more difficult is the time of year....dowitchers are beginning to molt from basic Winter plumage to alternate breeding plumage. Males and females and older and younger birds will molt at different rates. A few years ago I noted that among the Long-billed Dowitchers, the males were further along in molt than the females.

In Maryland we should expect the first Short-bills to be of the Atlantic type: Limnodromus griseus griseus which have a rufous breast and white bellies in breeding plumage.

I will not try to repeat what can better be found elsewhere, but will note a few things where You need to use care:

(1) bill length: in all dowitchers, males have shorter bills than females
(2) structure: some guides suggest that Long-bills look fat with rounded backs (swallowed a coconut) and Short-bills are slimmer with flat backs. In no case can this be used as the only diagnostic feature, especially when birds are in body molt!
(3) voice: "keek" is disagnostic for Long-bill and "tu-tu-tu" for Short-bills

If You really don't want to bother, I will lend You my first Peterson Field Guide. It has only Dowitcher because it predates the split. If You do want to bother I predict that Short-billed Dowitcher will be split into 3 species: Atlantic (griseus), Prairie (hendersoni) and Pacific (caurinus).

Good Birding!

Jim

Jim Stasz
North Beach MD
jlstasz
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