ML52742151

Age and sex

Juvenile, Unknown sex - X

Media notes

Juvenile Red-necked Stint. Riverside County Record. Sept 5, 2016.

Observation details

I first observed the bird in the late afternoon, September 5, 2016 at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in flooded fields north of Pond 4. These fields eventually were flooded to produce Marshes for waterfowl hunting. I was purposely looking for shorebirds as up to three Semipalmated Sandpipers had been observed recently, and Baird’s Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, and juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers had been reported. As I scoped a flock of peeps foraging in the mud and shallow water I noticed an individual that appeared different from nearby LESA in several ways. Although comparable in size this bird had black legs and a relatively shorter and finer, but somewhat blunted bill. My first impression was an atypical Semipalmated Sandpiper, but several minutes of observation through the Kowa spotting scope revealed a number of additional characters that were not supportive of SESA or WESA. These features included a finely streaked grey -brown crown and lack of a bold white supercilium but a dark distinct lore and white forehead. The ear coverts and behind the supercilium were lightly streaked. The throat was white and there was an apparent lightly streaked and somewhat smudged breast band. The structural impression in the field was that both the tail and wings seemed longer than a SESA or a WESA, and later when looking at the photographs, the long primary projection was noticeable. The tertials, and wing coverts appeared a lighter grey-brown. The scapulars were broadly dark centered and the upper scapulars clearly fringed with a rufous color. The mantle feathers were dark and there were bits of rufous and white edgings to those feathers. The flanks, belly and vent appeared white. I arrived home at dark (7PM) after calling several nearby potential observers, and then emailed with photographs. I want to thank Chet McGaugh and Curtis Marantz for immediate feedback and for then forwarding the photographs to others. Todd Easterla was very helpful and quickly confirmed the identification as a juvenile Red-necked Stint. The next day (Sept 6) Curtis Marantz and Guy McCaskie eventually refound the RNST in Pond A; and the bird was observed and photographed by many. That afternoon several observers re-located the RNST and photographed the bird in excellent light. Among those present at that time and photographing the bird were Tom Benson, Curtis Marantz, Jon Dunn and myself

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

1006 pixels x 671 pixels

Original file size

805.41 KB