ML611648775
peep sp. Calidris sp. (peep sp.)
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Media notes
Out of focus shot, but you can see there is a bit of a band partway around the breast with some blotches above and below it. Also visible are toes.
Observation details
Small peep with stubby short bill and black legs that's either an unprecedentedly late semipalmated sandpiper, a RN or Little stint, or a deformed / short-billed western sandpiper. I'm calling it a semipalmated at this point, mainly to trigger an alert and get the word out in case this is indeed a rarity. Photographed at the mouth of Elk Creek with westerns, dunlins, and sanderlings. A few photos from the back of my camera will be uploaded for now until I get home after the weekend and can import my photos. UPDATE: I was able to borrow a computer and import a few photos earlier than I had planned. I was not able to lighten them, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. 2nd UPDATE: Lightened photos are now uploaded, along with a few comments on some of the photos. I'm still very much leaning toward Semipalmated, although I don't know my stints well enough to confidently rule them out. I don't see obvious webbing on the toes, but my views were brief and my photos of the feet are pretty poor. The bird clearly has a shorter bill than expected on a Western, certainly in the range of semipalmated or stint; the bill is fine but fairly blunt with a slight droop. There is a limited but definite partial band extending partway across the breast, with some indistinct splotches above and below. The cap and cheek appear dark — however, the look is fairly similar to that of the surrounding westerns. The supercillium is not especially pronounced, although the pre-sunrise lighting does not help. 3rd UPDATE: After soliciting feedback from the OBOL (Oregon Birders Online) community, there was a pretty strong consensus from several of our more experienced birders that this is an unusually short-billed western. Points that were shared with me included the following: "The porky shape is Westerny though probably ok for Semi. It is too compact, with a chopped-off stern, to be a Red-necked Stint, which has a long, attenuated rear." "Your photos... show a bill that is perhaps too down-curved to be anything other than a Western." "The plumage on the upper parts is consistent with Western and not a match for a Semipalmated... This appears to be an exceptionally short-billed male Western." This bird is well beyond my skillset to identify, so I welcome any and all feedback from those who are familiar with Westerns / Semipalmateds / Stints in Nov-Dec. plumage. Unless I hear differently from the local reviewers, I am planning to retract my SESA ID and for now will list it as "peep sp." with a probable ID of Western Sandpiper.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 70D
- Lens
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 500
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/6.3
- Shutter speed
- 1/1250 sec
- Dimensions
- 1579 pixels x 1053 pixels
- Original file size
- 1.28 MB