ML102593701

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Oscar's CBRC submission: Species: Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda Location: Galileo Hill Park, Kern County Date: 4 June 2006 Age and sex: Possible second year, sex unknown. Number of individuals: 1 Other observers: About twenty over the course of the day, Jeff Seay and I were present when Ryan Terrill first found the bird. Circumstances: Ryan Terrill and I were birding the Kern Desert over the weekend looking for vagrants. We ran in to Jeff Seay and birded with him at a few locations. We were birding Galileo Hill in the afternoon, and we were the only birders present. The birding was very slow as we slowly made our way around the park. When we arrived at the soccer field pond on the backside of the park Ryan noticed a shorebird bathing at the edge of the pond. At first he didn’t know what the bird was, then he called out that he had an Upland Sandpiper and Jeff and I immediately got on the bird and confirmed the identification. The bird then proceeded to walk towards the soccer field and Ryan approached the bird to attempt to get some photos. We then started to call people about the bird. After a few minutes the bird flew over the road to the grass next to the central lake. I then went back to the car to get our scopes and camera equipment to photograph the bird. When I returned a few people had arrived and after temporarily loosing track of the bird someone found it again on the soccer field and we took lots of photos. All of my photos were digiscoped. Description: A very strange looking shorebird. Superficially resembling a Curlew or Godwit. Seemed to be approximately the same size as a Whimbrel, although none were present at the time. Long necked, long tailed, and long legged. Overall ground color was a sandy brown color with darker brown patterning across the body. The auriculars, nape, neck, and chest were somewhat streaked. Two median crown stripes were streaked dark brown, not contrasting strongly with the rest of the head. The central crown stripe was sandy brown with light streaking. Extending down the flanks from the lower chest were broad dark chevrons, distinctly separated from the streaking of the neck and chest. The rest of the underparts from the upper belly to the undertail coverts were plain sandy brown. The back was overall darker than the neck and had somewhat distinct paler thick streaks. This pattern continued down the lower back and rump to the tail. The scapulars, wing coverts, and tertials were mostly dark centered with pale fringing and darker bars across the feathers. The tail was relatively long for a shorebird with pale fringing and darker barring. All of the wing coverts were worn, contrasting with the fresher scapulars. Also, the outer 4 (?) primaries were replaced eccentrically (this is visible in one of Ryan Terrill’s photos). This suggests a second year bird. The bill was about one and a half times the length of the head and slightly downcurved at the tip. Most of the bill was yellow and the culmen and tip were dusky. The gape was downcurved as well, so that when viewed head-on, the bird appeared to be “frowning.” The eye seemed large for a shorebird, and was dark. The legs were also yellow, and fairly long. In flight the wings were plain with no wing stripe and plain dark brown primaries and secondaries. Call: a very strange sounding “whooop-whooop-whooop¬-whooop¬,” like nothing I have ever heard form a shorebird before. Discussion: A very distinctive shorebird that I don’t think can be confused with anything else. Curlews, godwits, and other large shorebirds can be eliminated by their longer strongly downcurved (Curlews), upcurved (Godwits), or strait (Willet, etc.) Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Ruff can be eliminated by, among other things, their plain neck, white underwing, and habits. All other shorebirds can be eliminated by size, habits, structure, and call. This is the first Upland Sandpiper I have ever seen.

Technical information

Model

E7900

ISO

50

Focal length

7.8 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/4.8

Shutter speed

10/4537 sec

Dimensions

1812 pixels x 1471 pixels

Original file size

938.91 KB