Need Sandpiper ID Help

[Bill Dix]

This image was shot several days ago at a NJ location where one (or two?) Baird's Sandpipers had been reliably reported the day before. Baird's are rarities in New Jersey, although it seems that one or two trickle through here each year about this time on their way to Tierra del Fuego.

To me, this bird - a worn juvenile, I believe - exhibits some similarities to Baird's, but leaves me wondering. It has dark scaly pattern with light fringes on the back. It has a dark area between eye and base of bill. It has a buffy face and buffy streaked breast, BUT not as buffy as some Bairds images I've seen. It's bill has a slight decurvature near the end; BUT the bill appears wider than a Baird's. It has dark wingtips that extend slightly beyond the tail; but not dramatically as in some Baird's images. Wings certainly don't seem long enough to take him almost from pole to pole. And perhaps most troubling, Geoffrey and I watched a dozen sandpipers in this spot on Friday evening, and although I attempted to focus on the one that seemed to me to exhibit the most Bairdish tendencies, all of the dozen appeared to be approximately the same size and shape, whereas the Baird's should appear a bit more elongated than a Semipalmated Sandpiper. Aside from the Semipalm, other competitors could be Western and White-rumped; and while I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the juvie plumages of those, I think they fail the test.

So my conclusion: a rare SemiBaird Sandpiper:e3. Hopefully some of you will have a better suggestion.

D500, 500PF with 1.4 TC, ISO 800, 1/2500s @ f/8 manual.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Haven't a clue regarding ID Bill, in fact never heard of a Baird's sandpiper, having said that I think it is a fine image, my only suggestion would have been to brighten the iris a tiny bit.

[John Mack]

On the ID i don't know. I do know that i like the ripples in the water and the way they surround the bird. Nice and sharp.

[Arthur Morris]

Worn juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper. Juvie Baird's is much more uniformly brown with the upper parts feathers evenly fringed in buffs white. The bill is much thinner overall than the bill of any semi. And with the wings way longer than the tail Baird's has an elongated look. And a finely streaked breast. When I was first learning shorebirds I remember trying to make every juvenile semi I saw into a Baird's ... Then when I saw one I said, yikes! They are that obvious.

The bill on your bird is very deep at the base and you can see a hint of the blobbed tip. Compare with the finely tipped thin overall bill of the worn juvenile Baird's here: Mecox Bay, Long Island, NY 2 OCT 2009 with the EF 800MM F/5.6 L lens, the 1.4X TC, and the notorious Canon 1D X Mark III.

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

ps; Baird's is a grass-piper usually seen in much drier habitats than semis. Rarely seen in the water. More likely to hang out with Least Sanpiper (and Buff-breasted if you are really lucky). I had to go to the office computer to did up my. only digital Baird's.

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[Bill Dix]

Thanks for the very detailed description, Artie. And for taking the time to go to the office. I'm sure I'll get a Baird's one of these days.

Makes me wonder if all the eBirder reports of a Baird's hanging out at this location the day before my shot, in the water with the Semipalms, didn't know what they were looking at.