ML447387821

Age and sex

Adult Male - 1

Observation details

I first spotted this bird at a distance of perhaps 500 metres through my scope. There was little wind, and the light was excellent. I could immediately discern that this was an unusual bird. My first impression was that a godwit had donned a Red Knot costume. It occurred to me that I may be looking at either a Black-tailed or Bar-tailed Godwit, but I needed a closer look. It took me some time to reach a good vantage point, and a Western Sandpiper and Snowy Egret did their utmost to distract me en route! (Their efforts were somewhat successful, I admit.) Finally, I managed to get into a much closer position with decent light. As I observed and photographed the bird and consulted my field guide, I became convinced that I had happened across Alberta's first record of Bar-tailed Godwit! It was smaller than nearby Marbled Godwits, but significantly larger than nearby dowitchers. (I estimated that it was similar in size to a Hudsonian Godwit.) The bright rufous on the belly, extending up over the breast to the neck and face, pointed away from our two expected godwit species. The nearly completely dark bill was also consistent with neither Marbled nor Hudsonian Godwit. When I glimpsed the open wings, they appeared quite gray, and there were no obvious wing stripes. Taken together, these field marks ruled out all Limosa species save Bar-tailed Godwit, which was a good match. Unfortunately, multiple birders' efforts to refind the godwit the following day were unsuccessful. A report was submitted to the ABRC, and was accepted.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

ISO

100

Focal length

247 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/250 sec

Dimensions

3311 pixels x 2483 pixels

Original file size

5.38 MB