ML139198701

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I believe this to be a Rock Sandpiper and not a Purple, but I'm unsure. In all likelihood, based on geography, it's likely a ROSA. But this bird is lacking the black splotch on the belly that I believe ROSA usually have at this time of year...This bird also seems a bit dark for the tschuktschorum subspecies of ROSA, but I've read that there's a lot of variation in ROSA subspecies. ****UPDATE*** 4/26/2016 Based on some discussion, it seems that this is likely a Purple Sandpiper (!!), based on comparisons with photos from the putative Salton Sea Purple Sandpiper. Peter Pyle put together some lines of evidence for the latter bird, which seem to hold true for this bird: presence of alternate upperpart feathers and the lack of black alternate feathers in the belly coinciding with the condition of the alternate upperpart feathers. ****UPDATE*** 4/27/2016 Peter Pyle is confident that this is the same individual bird that was seen at the Salton Sea over a week ago, which was also thought to be a Purple Sandpiper. More photos/video here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22691272@N03/

Technical information

Model

DMC-FZ1000

ISO

400

Focal length

146 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

3906 pixels x 2604 pixels

Original file size

7.65 MB