6 replies to this topic

[Benjamin DeHaven]

Hello all.

Before I cry and rip whats left of my hair out or post all 175 images with Killdeer sized and smaller birds for help with identification maybe you can help me out. Every time I settle on an ID I get the distinct feeling I am guessing or basing the ID off one feature while ignoring the others.

I tried to use the whatBird search but I think I am splitting hairs too finely for its usage trying to tell Least from Semipalmated from Spotted from Solitary. Add in user error in differentiating barred from spotted from whatever other pattern you want to throw in and I am getting results I am sure are wrong (only thing I'm sure of).

Per the subject line, does anyone have tips or web references that go in depth and break down the differences into easy to understand terms and easily seen differences for the mid-beginner level "OCD must know the ID of every bird" person?

Thanks again for the help, I figured this would be a better place to start then dropping a whole bunch of pictures at once.

Benjamin DeHaven

[Grandpa577]

1. Sibley is always a good place to start (The Sibley Guide to Birds).
2. Post the pictures. That's what we do here. Ask questions if you don't understand the 'why' of a particular id.
3. There are some good references for detail comparisons on the web. You can google a particular species. I find pbase.com photos are reliable for identification. sdakotabirds.com has reliable info also.

[Pat B.]

I highly recommend Kenn Kaufman's Field Guide to Advanced Birding. It is not the usual field guide showing all the species with a brief blurb about each. This book explains the nuances and subtleties of IDing birds in general and then has a section for each general type of bird.

That said, you probably won't be able to ID all those look-alike shorebirds right away. That's a tough category, as you will see from the sometimes long threads here. There will be lots of times that you will just have to know that it's a Sandpiper or Plover of some sort and leave it at that. This takes practice.

[koolhand]

Benjamin,
You may want to spend some time absorbing one of the most coherent, well written treatments on peep identification ever written in my opinion. Cameron Cox, in three installments, explains it all. If everyone understood what he has to say we would have much less confusion out here.
Find it here: Peep ID

[Benjamin DeHaven]

I just posted in this forum with a few of the images and birds I am puzzled over (Sandpipers). The post is titled "Shorebirds Need Id Badges, until then can you help me?" or something along those lines.

As for the site recommended by koolhand, I had stumbled across that but didn't spend too much time on it when it broke the birds down by wing length. I didn't see how I could figure out relative wing lengths so I just kept moving. I will go back and spend some more time there to try and "shore" up my confidence in those IDs.

Benjamin DeHaven

[bushwacker]

Cape May Bird observatory is doing a shorebird workshop across the bay at bombay hook NWR next thursday 7/26. not terribly far from you. google birdcapemay.org for info

[Joejr14]

On the east coast, as far as 'peeps' go, you've only got a handful.

Least and Semipalmated look very similar, with some subtle differences. If you're close enough to see the leg color, Least have yellow legs. Semipalmated are dark (olive-greyish looking things). Least's bills are nomally a bit more curved than semipalms.

The occasional western isn't out of the question either, but they're slightly larger than the above two, longer more curved bill, and the breeding coloration is different.

Sanderlings are bigger than all of the above, dark legs, and are usually more active running along beaches. They're the typical sandpiper that runs away from the waves as they crash on the beach. They also lack the hind toe that other peeps do.

Dunlins are a bit bigger still. Breeding plumage is distinctive, and they have long droopy bills.

Spotted sandpipers (you had some in your other thread) are funky looking things. They're spotted (well normally), longer bill, short neck, and long tail. Once you've seen a few of them they're very easy to spot.

Once you start getting into Solitary, Yellowlegs, Pectoral, those are bigger than what most people call 'peeps'. You also have the oddities like Buff-breasted, Bairds, and the occasional white-rumped later in the season.

Sandpiper ID's can be tricky, but if you have decent looks at them you can usually ID them down fairly quickly to a few possibilities.