ML611648795

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

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

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1494 pixels x 996 pixels

Original file size

1.02 MB