ID some Pipers Please?
Boy these buggers are hard for me to ID... I took these a few weeks ago at Stone Harbor and Cape May NJ. I am such a rookie, I think I got it then I don't, then I do......argh!!! After a while, I am convinced they are all Pterodactyls.
1.
2.
3.
4. (same as 6?)
5.
6.
Thanx so much!
Bruce in Philly
Hi Bruce- I don't know them all but I take a crack at the ones I am pretty sure of:
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper adult
5. Ruddy Turnstone
6. Sanderling- note overall white appearance of face and lack of hind-toe (hallux).
No. 3 looks like a immature bird, I think White-rumped Sandpiper (could be a Semi?)
No. 2 strikes me as an adult White-rumped Sandpiper based on overall grey appearance, fine streaking of neck and wings longer than tail.
No. 1 could be another Semipalmated Sandpiper but I'm sure at all sure.
Paul will no doubt set us straight.
Last edited by John Chardine; 10-18-2012 at 10:49 AM.
Hi Bruce- Forgot to mention, I will try to find out where the flagged bird came from. I know that shorebirds have been marked this way by New Jersey Audubon (David Mizrahi). I'll see what I can do.
"Paul will no doubt set us straight."
Set you straight? Hah! But I'll at least express my opinions.
#1: Sanderling. Juvenile due to black checkered upperparts, cap, and a bit of darkish shoulder bar.
#2: Semipalmated or Western Sandpiper. Tough to say since its hiding part of its best field mark. Adult due to very plain upperparts.
#3: Semipalmated or Western Sandpiper. The bill looks too thick with a tip that looks too blunt for Western, but the amount of rusty edging at this late date looks better for Western. Juvenile due to the fresh rusty and pale feather edges on the upperparts.
#4: Sanderling. Adult due to clean gray upperparts.
#5: Ruddy Turnstone. I think juv. due to what appears to be fresh pale edging on some feathers.
#6: Sanderling: Adult due to clean gray upperparts.
There is a USGS Bird Banding Laboratory web site for the reporting of all birds with "auxiliary markers" like your #6. This includes birds like geese with neck collars, birds like yours with flags, hawks with wing tags, etc. You will be asked to enter sighting data like date, location, species, and of course the flag number and colors. Here's the site:
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/aboutaux.cfm
There is another web site for reporting of flagged shorebirds, gulls, and terns. It asks you for sighting data as well and even allows you to upload a photo. I put in an inquiry to find out if they automatically forward their sightings to the BBL or not but haven't heard back yet. You can find that site at:
http://report.bandedbirds.org/ReportResighting.aspx
I encourage all photographers to report birds where standard aluminum leg bands or color markers can be read. In the "olden days", data was almost exclusively obtained from a tiny number of banding recaptures and dead/injured birds. With the technological advances in digital photographer and so many talented people out there, photographers have ability to really increase the return rate for these projects.
-PAG
I will add my 1 cent here. I agree with all but I do think that #3 is a Western SP due to the drooping bill.
UPDATE ON REPORTING: I received a reply form the person running the bandbirds.org web site. Currently they do not automatically report to the BBL, so if anybody makes a report I'd encourage you to submit it to both places.
Here's a Western Sandpiper I saw a couple of years ago. The species ID was done here on BPN and I remember Artie mentioning how "pot-bellied" Westerns look- like this bird (an immature). I don't see this trait in either image 2 or 3.
Dan- Westerns (and indeed Semis) come in long and short-billed forms and the long-billed Western does have a droopy bill (ref. Sibley)
I post a White-rump next.
Here's an adult White-rump.
John, I doubt either of those birds are White-rumpeds. The length of their primaries and tails is very short. Your White-rumped appears short too, but it is obviously hunched up and not in a naturally stretched posture like #2 and #3. Take a look at the back ends of the White-rumpeds in these photos. It looks their butts are made of Play-dough and somebody grabbed them from behind and yanked.
http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/whit...llis#/idPhotos
I lean towards Semipalmated for #2 due to the slim build. I'm still on the fence about #3. The bill is drooped but also thick. That bugs me for Western. On the flip side, I already mentioned the rusty fringes, it does look a bit chubby to me, it appears a bit hunchbacked, and also looks kind of block headed. All of these traits lean more towards Western for me. Of course assessing shape from one photo is fraught with peril.
Bruce, if you have any other shots that you know are bird #3 in some different positions, that might be helpful.
Thanks Paul. I agree. I had dropped the White-rump idea after your IDs!
I know. The White-rumped ID called me and was sobbing uncontrollably. Cold, dude. Very cold.Originally Posted by John Chardine
Try these.... I am aggressive on my delete key and keep only the best pics (quality and composition wise) so here are the photos before and after this sequence number:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bruced...MG_2141TTP.jpg
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bruced...MG_2162TTP.jpg
Thanx again..... are you sure there are no Pterodactyls in there?
Bruce
Pics... screwed up the links
Thanx
Bruce
Hi Bruce
[QUOTEBoy these buggers are hard for me to ID... I took these a few weeks ago at Stone Harbor and Cape May NJ.[/QUOTE]
I've not looked at the other responses, but here is my take on each image & the reasons why:
- Juvenile Sanderling with its unique dark/white spangled upperparts, i.e. 'chequerboard' pattern;
- A classic adult Western Sandpiper in full winter plumage. Its jizz shows it to be clearly large headed & front heavy with a long bill. Semipalmated Sandpipers complete their moult on wintering grounds, so this plumage state is not (normally) seen in the USA.
I know, from requests I received, that all the authors of all recent shorebird guides struggled to get images of winter plumaged Semip's;
- The most difficult of the batch, but I would go for juvenile Western Sandpiper based on structure as described for the adult above. Plumage features supporting this view are an obvious contrast between the rufous scapulars & grey wing coverts, pale head - particularly the ear coverts & very little or no streaking on breast sides/breast;
- Adult winter Sanderling - very pale;
- Juvenile Ruddy Turnstone - note the rows of small neat wing coverts;
- Another adult winter Sanderling & note the unique lack of a hind toe on all Sanderling images you've posted here.
Cheers: Wayne
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