ML35942701

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Given current knowledge of ID criteria for these taxa (see below for my caveat) two things make me fairly confident that at least the individual in the pictures below is a Western Willet. Structure: All images of the focal bird (same individual in each) show a relatively long, slightly up-curved bill. I'm aware that there is overlap in bill dimensions and shape, however, I would argue that this bird is at the Western end of the spectrum and is not similar structurally to the bird in the video or numerous photos of birds in breeding plumage from the Gulf Coast. I won't argue about relative leg length, because that's much harder to assess in these pictures. Molt: The bird is undergoing pre-basic molt with heavily worn alternate plumage greater and lesser coverts (attached is the image if you want to zoom in). As far as I've read, there are no documented reports of Eastern Willet with such extensive basic plumage in the United States. In fact, what I've read suggests there are no documented reports of Eastern Willet undergoing pre-basic molt in the US at all.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

100

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

2506 pixels x 1880 pixels

Original file size

1.05 MB