ML618132101

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Stilt Sandpiper with Pectoral Sandpiper behind it.

Observation details

Early migrant. Breeding plumaged bird viewed from approximately 800 feet, studied through spotting scope for much of the 40 minutes it was present. Initially seen with several Dunlin, it stood taller and had a more slender build with a smaller head and a straighter bill very slightly drooped toward the tip. Rather strong head pattern with dark crown and dark patch through eye separated by wide and long white supercilium. Underparts not unmarked white (unlike the bellies of the Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Lesser Yellowlegs present) though exact pattern hard to discern; at times I thought I could make out dark barring on the flanks. Bill was black, legs were greenish. Bird foraged by tipping its head into the water, sometimes using a rapid sewing machine motion like a dowitcher. The bird was in the wet field southwest of the south terminus of Tower Beach Road until it joined two Lesser Yellowlegs in flying off to the northeast. In flight it appeared noticeably smaller than the yellowlegs and had a slender look accentuated by the longer bill and feet trailing behind the tail (as they flew off in a light rain I couldn’t easily make out plumage details through binoculars). Images obtained with iPhone through spotting scope set to 60 power in windy conditions don’t show the bird as well as I could see it in my best views.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 12

ISO

32

Focal length

4.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/1.6

Shutter speed

1/268 sec

Dimensions

1374 pixels x 1030 pixels

Original file size

182.05 KB