16 replies to this topic

[PragerBirds]

Hi All,

I need some help with some shorebirds that I photographed on Friday at South Padre in Texas. I've spent a lot of time with the bird guide and these pictures and I've narrowed it down a whole bunch but am offically stuck for a final ID on these.

Here's a link to my Flikr Page with these pictures (whatbird says the files are to large...)



Here are my best guesses:

1-6. The first six pictures in the album are all the same bird. I think it might be a Willet.
7-9 are different birds, but I think they're all Willets.
10-17 I think are all Least Sandpipers, but I'd love for them to be something different...a couple of these are the same bird, but there's a mix.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[JimBob]

I think you are right on all of them.

[Grandpa577]

So do I.

[Liam]

Willets is correct, the others look like Pectoral Sandpipers to me, bill is too long and decurved for Least Sandpiper.

[JimBob]

Okay I was wrong. . . again!

[PragerBirds]

Interesting stuff. I may go back through my pictures and see if there's some of both. I wouldn't be surprised.

[PragerBirds]

Just double checked my photos. All of the brown Sandpipers have yellow legs. In my book, the Semipalmated Sandpipers all have black or gray legs...is that enough to call it a Least?

[Sparky the Cuttlefish]

Just double checked my photos. All of the brown Sandpipers have yellow legs. In my book, the Semipalmated Sandpipers all have black or gray legs...is that enough to call it a Least?

Liam was saying that he thinks that they're Pectoral (not Semipalmated) Sandpipers, which also have yellow legs. They look a bit like giant Least Sandpipers.

[PragerBirds]

Oops. It would help if I read more carefully.

They were bigger than least Sandpipers I'd seen in the past, for sure, which was one of my hesistations in saying that it was a Least. That's pretty exciting. Thanks for your help.

[Liam]

I'm really wanting to see a Pectoral this Spring.

[Sparky the Cuttlefish]

Paruula and I got our first today! Not great looks, though. Good luck to you in getting better ones.

[Paruula]

Yes, I got some crummy pictures. I am definitely investing in a scope. >:|

I agree with Pectoral Sandpipers, and today, I can really appreciate the superb shots you got!

[Joejr14]

Absolutely agree w/ Pectoral. They're funky looking things.

[Paruula]

Well now I just feel silly. Did you put sandpiper kibble on your lens? Wow!

[PragerBirds]

Liam, if you can get yourself down to South Padre, we were loaded with them. I don't have the sweet, up close and personal shot, but I did wade through a lot of questionable mud to get the shots I posted. It was, without a doubt, the most disgusting thing I've walked through to get to a bird.

[Liam]

Liam, if you can get yourself down to South Padre, we were loaded with them. I don't have the sweet, up close and personal shot, but I did wade through a lot of questionable mud to get the shots I posted. It was, without a doubt, the most disgusting thing I've walked through to get to a bird.

Sounds tempting, even the mud part!

[Joejr14]

Well now I just feel silly. Did you put sandpiper kibble on your lens? Wow!

LoL!!! I wish I had 'kibble' for every species I was taking pictures of. I just got lucky with a handful down at the beach one day. They were in a parking lot in a muddy pool and let me get to minimum focusing distance in my truck. Having 700mm in front of the camera didn't hurt any, either.