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Subject:

retraction of Red-necked Stint

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Joe Hanfman

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Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:30:50 +0000

Matt Hafner has provided me with much help on the id of the  bird Kevin and I saw at Hart-Miller Island today and it appears, that it was a Semipalmated Sandpiper in a rather unique plum age. 



"Semipalmated Sandpipers can show rather bright scapulars in the Spring and look quite similar to Western Sandpipers.  See the first photo at the below link for an example.  While the vast majority of Semis lack that coloration or would have it worn off, it would not be too crazy (still quite rare though) for an adult this time of year to have retained some of those reddish scapulars."   
http://www.oceanwanderers.com/SemiSand1.html 





We id'ed the bird as a juvenile Red-necked Stint but it is  much too early to expect juveniles to be arriving on the Mid-Atlantic coast.   



The Shorebird Guide which states: Migrant juveniles seen in w. Alaska primarily from mid-August to mid-September.  Although there are very few records, juveniles along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are most likely to occur in September and October.   


About molting adults they say: Many southbound adults show nearly full breeding plumage, but molt progresses rapidly upon arrival on the wintering grounds, and some birds appear as nearly full nonbreeding by mid-August.   


So that's the main reason to suspect a mid-July vagrant to be an adult with noticeable breeding plumage. The bird we saw was thought to be a juvenile so I now believe it to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper and not a Red-necked Stint. This was not a unanimous decision because some believe it could be first year adult Red-necked Stint, which show almost identical plumage as a juvenile. The problem with this theory is that "juvenile Red-necked Stints undergo a molt in late Fall/early-winter into basic plumage.  First-years birds either remain in basic plumage or partially molt to breeding plumage, neither of which would resemble juvenal plumage."   


  
Thanks to all for your comments especially Matt and Kevin. 


Joe Hanfman 


About molting adults they say: Many southbound adults show nearly full breeding plumage, but molt progresses rapidly upon arrival on the wintering grounds, and some birds appear as nearly full nonbreeding by mid-August.   


So that's the main reason to suspect a mid-July vagrant to be an adult with noticeable breeding plumage. The bird we saw was thought to be a juvenile so I now believe it to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper and not a Red-necked Stint. This was not a unanimous decision because some believe it could be first year adult Red-necked Stint, which show almost identical plumage as a juvenile. The problem with this theory is that "juvenile Red-necked Stints undergo a molt in late Fall/early-winter into basic plumage.  First-years birds either remain in basic plumage or partially molt to breeding plumage, neither of which would resemble juvenal plumage."   


  
Thanks to all for your comments especially Matt and Kevin. 


Joe Hanfman 
Matt Hafner has provided me with much help on the id of the  bird Kevin and I saw at Hart-Miller Island today and it appears, that it was a Semipalmated Sandpiper in a rather unique plum age. 



"Semipalmated Sandpipers can show rather bright scapulars in the Spring and look quite similar to Western Sandpipers.  See the first photo at the below link for an example.  While the vast majority of Semis lack that coloration or would have it worn off, it would not be too crazy (still quite rare though) for an adult this time of year to have retained some of those reddish scapulars."   
http://www.oceanwanderers.com/SemiSand1.html 





We id'ed the bird as a juvenile Red-necked Stint but it is  much too early to expect juveniles to be arriving on the Mid-Atlantic coast.   



The Shorebird Guide which states: Migrant juveniles seen in w. Alaska primarily from mid-August to mid-September.  Although there are very few records, juveniles along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are most likely to occur in September and October.   


About molting adults they say: Many southbound adults show nearly full breeding plumage, but molt progresses rapidly upon arrival on the wintering grounds, and some birds appear as nearly full nonbreeding by mid-August.   


So that's the main reason to suspect a mid-July vagrant to be an adult with noticeable breeding plumage. The bird we saw was thought to be a juvenile so I now believe it to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper and not a Red-necked Stint. This was not a unanimous decision because some believe it could be first year adult Red-necked Stint, which show almost identical plumage as a juvenile. The problem with this theory is that "juvenile Red-necked Stints undergo a molt in late Fall/early-winter into basic plumage.  First-years birds either remain in basic plumage or partially molt to breeding plumage, neither of which would resemble juvenal plumage."   


  
Thanks to all for your comments especially Matt and Kevin. 


Joe Hanfman 


About molting adults they say: Many southbound adults show nearly full breeding plumage, but molt progresses rapidly upon arrival on the wintering grounds, and some birds appear as nearly full nonbreeding by mid-August.   


So that's the main reason to suspect a mid-July vagrant to be an adult with noticeable breeding plumage. The bird we saw was thought to be a juvenile so I now believe it to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper and not a Red-necked Stint. This was not a unanimous decision because some believe it could be first year adult Red-necked Stint, which show almost identical plumage as a juvenile. The problem with this theory is that "juvenile Red-necked Stints undergo a molt in late Fall/early-winter into basic plumage.  First-years birds either remain in basic plumage or partially molt to breeding plumage, neither of which would resemble juvenal plumage."   


  
Thanks to all for your comments especially Matt and Kevin. 


Joe Hanfman 




Columbia, MD