ML520380571

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Jim, Ralf and I studied this bird at length through our scopes at a range of no more than twenty meters, for over five minutes. Jim is very familiar with White-rumped Sandpipers, living as he does in the northeastern USA. Jim was certain that this bird was a WRSA. I myself do not have that much experience with White-rumped Sandpipers, but I did see two of them earlier this year, and had seen them a few times over the years. This was a Calidris sandpiper, too big to be a "peep," and thus was not Least or a Semipalmated Sandpiper. I have enormous amounts of experience with Dunlins; this was no Dunlin. I never did see the color of the rump. I did note the presence of a white eyebrow, and the length and shape of the bill. The bill was reminiscent of the bill of a Western Sandpiper, but the bird was too large to be a WESA. We observed the bird as it foraged next to a Least Sandpiper and a Semipalmated Sandpiper; it was larger than either of those. To add to the confusion, I am not certain whether the bird in my three photographs was the one that Jim called a WRSA!

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

320

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/160 sec

Dimensions

960 pixels x 1200 pixels

Original file size

278.22 KB