Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2001 18:04:29 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Bob Hartman Subject: Curlew Sandpiper and ID help MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi All - Toni and I made a quick trip to Bombay Hook today to look for the Curlew Sandpiper(s). Along with a dozen or so others, had a good long look at this beautiful bird, in the SE corner of Shearness. Unless he changed clothes very quickly, this was not the same bird that Mary Scott photographed Wednesday and later posted. This one was solid brick red over the head, breast, and belly, pretty much like most of the pictures. The bird I'd like to get opinions on was also in Shearness, near the parking area halfway across the dike. It was peep- sized, with yellow or yellow-green legs, which usually points in the direction of Least SP. However, this bird was colored different from any Least SP we've ever seen. Two things first caught my eye: First, the "V" on the back was rather bright, and yellowish. There seemed to be also some of the yellowish color in the outer primaries. Second, the (broad) supercilium and cheek were buff - clearly not white or brown. The ear patch was medium brown, with somewhat diffuse edges. Otherwise, the breast was very light, possibly off-white or light tan. There could have been fine speckles - if so, couldn't make them out. The lower breast and belly were white, and the back and head were brown, similar to the auriculars. Overall, this bird gave an impression of being very light in color. The bill looked like that of a Least. The weather was rather dark overcast, so the yellowish and buff colors weren't sunlight-induced. This bird wasn't with other peeps. The only other bird around was a Dunlin. Doug Gill (a much more experienced birder than are we) happened to be there, and he was also stumped. His default conclusion was aberrant Least, but we would certainly appreciate other opinions. Bob Hartman Colesville, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================