ML20993041

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Calidris sp. Our group was actively looking for the "fairly dull bird (female?)" Curlew Sandpiper that was reported to eBird at Heislervile the previous day (See list) when I located a roosting shorebird among Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers, head tucked. My first impression was it was a Dunlin that had not started molting into alternate plumage, which I thought was odd, since every other of the ~200 nearby Dunlin were all at least 90% molted. I studied the markings on the breast, trying to ascertain exact location of the non-white feathers, thinking that if it were a Dunlin, it would start showing some black feathers in the belly - it had none. The darker feathers appeared restricted to the breast, not in the location (belly) where Dunlin would start showing black. It crossed my mind that if it were a Dunlin in delayed molt into alternate plumage, the breast would probably have the unstreaked, even brown tones of typical winter-plumaged Dunlin - it did not. Instead, the breast appeared spangled with dark feathers, though I couldn't determine with distant scope views if there was any warmth to the brown tones. The scapulars had a broken row of non-basic plumage feathers. I couldn't tell if the feathers were retained juvenal feathers on a first-spring bird or the freshly molted alternate feathers. I knew a white rump would be a good mark for Curlew Sandpiper, and though I didn't see the full rump exposed, I could see a large white patch in the rump region between the folded wings, which I thought may have been showing more white than would be seen on the folded wings of a Dunlin, whose rump and central-tail feathers are dark and would overlap the white outer-tail feathers. Then it turned it's head out for a side-on profile and I thought the bill was more evenly decurved throughout, instead of the droopy-tip look of a Dunlin. I called out the bird to our group as a potential Curlew Sandpiper and we all got our scopes of the bird. Then, all too soon, the flock flew out to the Bay, chasing the falling tide. Then, one of our group, James Wilson, found a Red-necked Phalarope, so we got busy posting that rarity to eBird, leaving the possible Curlew Sandpiper to research further. I did not think the bird had a 'sleek' look or longer neck as descibed in shorebird guides, though the photos might show the legs a little longer than adjacent Dunlin (the 'knee' is a little lower on the bird in question. We have zero experience with Curlew Sandpiper, so any thoughts would be appreciated. Showing evenly curved bill:

Technical information

Model

iPhone 5

ISO

50

Focal length

4.1 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.4

Shutter speed

1/570 sec

Dimensions

2570 pixels x 1197 pixels

Original file size

787.11 KB