[MDOsprey] Re: Dowitchers, etc.
Michael O'Brien (obrienm@algorithms.com)
Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:52:30 -0400
Hi all,
I just wanted to add my two cents worth on the status of Long-billed
Dowitcher in the region in July. I have seen up to several hundred
Long-billed Dowitchers at Bombay Hook in the last week of July and a few
individuals as early as the second week. The Bombay Hook/Little Creek area
is clearly a staging area for this species, as it is for American Avocet, so
Maryland birders should not expect Long-billed Dowitchers to be equally
common at their favorite local shorebird pond. However, one should not be
surprised to see the first arriving Long-bills in late July as the species
is clearly on the move by then (five in Cape May right now, for example).
Identifying a Long-bill is obviously difficult but there is a handy trick
which may make things easier. Most Long-bills have already begun their
flight feather molt by late July so, in flight or while flapping, they will
show missing primaries or secondaries (i.e., ragged wings). Short-bills, on
the other hand, don't begin their flight feather molt until they reach their
wintering grounds so their flight feathers are always full at this season.
One exception is that one-year-old Short-bills will sometimes show flight
feather molt in mid-summer but these birds are in mostly basic (winter)
plumage. The long and short of it is, if your bird shows a red belly and
ragged wings, it's a Long-bill.
Good shorebirding,
Michael O'Brien