ML32358941

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Willet

Observation details

I was very surprised to find a Willet, standing on a sand bar that was covered with algae at the far central-east side of the lake. It was very far away, and consequently, my photos are very poor. I could only find one prior eBird record of a Willet at Becker Lake (09/01/1990) - hence the detailed description and photos below. Large shorebird, significantly larger than Spotted Sandpipers and a little larger than the young juvenile Pied-billed Grebes that were next to it; head large, light tan, with slightly darker crown and lores; dark eye really stood out due to pale face; forehead pale white, extending to the base of the upper bill; area around eyes and lower cheek and throat pale white; nape and sides of neck light tan; upper wings and back brown, without any obvious pattern, but with some small mottled lighter markings; tail and end of primaries very dark brown or black; underside mostly pale, especially on lower breast, lower belly and undertail coverts; brown barring along flanks above legs; upper breast tan. Legs long, greenish yellow (hard to determine exact color due to light conditions and distance); bill dark, long, straight with very slight downward droop, appeared fairly thin. Feeding was slow and deliberate, with selected picking at food. Vocalizations - In the evening we heard it giving single calls of 'keeer ah', sometimes with widely spaced multiple calls.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

250

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/200 sec

Dimensions

1638 pixels x 1220 pixels

Original file size

1.07 MB