Western Sandpiper - Bob Walker
Report

Contributor

Date

Location

NM Los Alamos, Bandelier, County-line Lagoons
Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: 35.7682087, -106.257062
Age and sex
Unknown age, Unknown sex - 1

Observation details

Sandpiper, appeared only very briefly, stayed barely long enough for a few photos, slightly decurved bill, black legs, light supercilium, darker lores. Wing length TBD. Will ID from photos. Our original thought was that this is a Baird's Sandpiper, based on dark legs, no prominent eyering or eyelines. Could not tell in the field how long the wings are relative to tail, though. Bird circled the lagoon once before landing, showing full white underside and diffuse white-ish stripe on the top of the wings. Vocalized once, giving off what sounded like an alarm call of a Baird's. After consultation with experts, we believe that the heavy spotting on the chest and flanks plus the fact that the wingtips do not extend farther beyond the tip of the tail suggest that the bird is not a Baird’s but a Western Sandpiper. On one of the photos, you can see a little of the characteristic foot webbing that Western Sandpipers have. Several other sandpipers were ruled out: 1). Baird's has dark legs but is ruled out because its wings are longer than those of our bird and because its spotting is not heavy and dark, nor does it have webbing between its toes. 2). White-rumped Sandpiper, which also has black legs and does have heavy spotting, is nevertheless ruled out because its wings, like the wings of Baird's, are longer than those of our bird, extending beyond the tip of the tail, and it has no webbing between the toes. Its early migration pattern is such that it would be very unlikely to find a WRSA in New Mexico in late July, Additionally, when our bird flew in we saw no white rump. 3). Semipalmated Sandpiper also has black legs and short wings. It does have webbing between the toes, but it has a shorter, straighter bill and its spotting is not as heavy.

Technical information

Model
Canon EOS R5
Lens
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
ISO
640
Focal length
560 mm
f-stop
f/8.0
Shutter speed
1/1000 sec
Dimensions
1200 pixels x 800 pixels
Original file size
547.53 KB