Sandpiper ID

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I posted this image in avian, I thought it is a least sandpiper, Dave and Jim think it is a juvi semipalmated sandpiper. What do you think?

Here is the thread: http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=45749

[Dave Hassell]

The bill thickness indicates a Semipalmated but the leg colour is more like a Least. I would go for the thicker bill as being more reliable and think it is a Semipalmated.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Thanks, Dave!

[John Chardine]

For comparison, here's a Least Sandpiper photographed this late-spring here in Sackville. This would be an adult in breeding plumage. I have to say, Axel's bird looks very similar to this one. Have I got my ID wrong?? I just went with the yellow legs which is as I understand it a unique feature amongst North American peeps.

This was a great bird by the way. I spent at least an hour with it as (s)he fed in close range.

[Chris Sloan]

Both photos are ID'd correctly. With most birds, and shorebirds in particular, it's often much more helpful to ignore the plumage details and look at the structure. These two photos illustrate that perfectly. It would be an interesting exercise to take these two photos and literally black out the bird so that you just have a silhouette. If you do that you will see the much heavier, straighter, peg-like bill of the Semi, and it's flatter-backed posture and chunky body. On the Least you will see the much finer-tipped slightly decurved bill and the very typical "hunched over" appearance. The bare parts coloration is also distinctive. It's not unusual for juvie Semis or other black-legged peeps to show some lighter grayish or greenish discoloration, but the legs are still mostly black. The Least shows the distinctive yellow-brown legs of that species.

[Arthur Morris]

Chris is right-on. The bill is the key and the single most important feature is that the bill in the bird in pane 1 has a blobbed tip, the least in pane 4 has a pointy tip. John's least is an adult, Axel's bird is in pretty fresh juvenal plumage. All but Chris are referred to my Shorebirds, Beautiful Beachcombers

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Thanks for the help and I even have the beachcomber book!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the help and I even have the beachcomber book!

As always, you gotta read it! I remembered that you picked one up on the SW FLA IPT.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

As always, you gotta read it! I remembered that you picked one up on the SW FLA IPT.

And I thought putting it under the pillow is good enough. :)