ML619162345

Age and sex

Unknown age, Unknown sex - 1

Observation details

**Rare, 2nd Pinal County record after 2 were found together last autumn (J. Michael, m.ob. ph.). Apparently, mid-late May is prime time for spring records in AZ. This bird was mostly in breeding plumage, but I'm not sure it's bright enough to be an adult male. A lifer for me! It was first seen at noon, when I checked the ponds with just binoculars. I noted its medium size and first considered a dowitcher, given long bill and brick reddish underparts. It just wasn't right for a dowitcher, though. In binoculars, I could see longer legs, a paler head than the rest of the body, and a godwit bill with a pinkish base. It also fed differently than a dowitcher, making single or double jabs into the mud rather than a "sewing machine" probing style. Soon, it raised its wings to show a fairly bold white wingstripe, extensive white on the uppertail, and dark underwings. These were diagnostic for HUGO. I returned with scope and camera, and the bird was still present. A raven would occasionally flush the blackbirds in the ponds, shuffling the godwit around as well. The bird's distinctive wing and tail patterns made it easy to track in flight. One other feature that I noted in photos was the short white supercilium, helping to distinguish HUGO from the more expected Marbled Godwit.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

ISO

1250

Focal length

360 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

2488 pixels x 1653 pixels

Original file size

2.84 MB