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Re: Long-billed Peep at Triadelphia, 9/19/10

From:

Jim Moore

Reply-To:

Jim Moore

Date:

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 16:57:53 -0400

  Funny you should mention this Bill!  I had similar concerns and 
had emailed off list a few of those who had reported a Western.  
The bird I was seeing appeared to be a fresh juvenile and didn't 
have rufous scapulars.  I found some references suggesting the 
rufous can wear off by September, so I decided to go with the flow 
and tick a Western, but your post has me reconsidering.  I tried 
to get photos of the bird I saw as well but was unsuccessful.  It 
appeared to be hanging with a very similarly plumaged bird with a 
shorter bill.

In any event, thanks for posting this and for the photos.

Good birding!
Jim Moore
Rockville, Maryland
PLEASE REPORT YOUR BIRD SIGHTINGS to http://ebird.org/

On 10/3/2010 4:32 PM, Bill Hubick wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> A bit of house-cleaning here before I find an excuse to not send this. I visited
> Triadelphia Lake Road (Howard/Montgomery) on 9/19 to enjoy the great shorebirds
> that were being seen there. It was the best shorebird show I've seen in Howard
> Co., and we spent four hours just keeping an eye on the extensive mudflats. We
> enjoyed the White-rumped and Baird's Sandpiper, and also found a very
> long-billed peep that looked good for Western Sandpiper.
>
> Upon inspection of my photos, I realized that we might have been dealing with a
> Semipalmated Sandpiper at the extreme end of bill length. I sent the photos
> around and all consulted have agreed. The bill is quite long, but it seems
> decidedly straight and Semi-like, without tapering near the tip. This is
> especially evident in the image where it is facing left (included below). Other
> images show this consistently. Structurally, the bird is a better match for
> Semipalmated as well. I think one factor that partially explains confusion is
> that many birds present were muddy and had a drop of mud at the tip of their
> bills. This adds a suggestion of a droop at the tip in a couple of my distant
> photos.
>
> I am not saying that a Western Sandpiper was not present during a great
> shorebird day that attracted a Baird's to Howard County. However, others might
> want to consider whether this might have been the bird that was seen. It was
> very convincing under field conditions. I'd also be interested in whether any
> other documentation exists to support Western on those dates. Again, not trying
> to wreak havoc on anyone's lists - just trying to do what we can for good
> record-keeping!
>
> Some shots of the bird in question:
>
> http://www.billhubick.com/images2/peep_md_20100919_01.jpg
> http://www.billhubick.com/images2/peep_md_20100919_02.jpg
> http://www.billhubick.com/images2/peep_md_20100919_03.jpg
>
>
> Here's to good data!
>
> b
>
> Bill Hubick
> Pasadena, Maryland
> 
> http://www.billhubick.com
>