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Alaska Quiz 3

Last post 05-16-2008, 7:32 AM by MaBo. 11 replies.
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  •  05-07-2008, 3:40 PM 36360

    Alaska Quiz 3

    Attachment: alaskaquiz3.jpg
    Four different species here in this photo.  Can you name them?  These are all breeding migrants to my location in NW Alaska along the coast.  All are considered shorebirds.

    Ken Stenek
    Shishmaref, Alaska

    Check out my NEW Birds of Shishmaref site at:
    http://shishmaref.bssd.org/birdsofshishmaref/
  •  05-07-2008, 4:39 PM 36368 in reply to 36360

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    To small of a photo to make out much more than Long-billed Dowitcher.

     


    featherbrainCool

    Try out my photo quiz!

    Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD!

    "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
  •  05-07-2008, 4:55 PM 36371 in reply to 36368

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    Attachment: alaskaquiza.jpg
    Yes, LBDO's are an easy one to get.  If you click on it, it does get a little bigger.  here it is larger (if you click on it).

    Ken Stenek
    Shishmaref, Alaska

    Check out my NEW Birds of Shishmaref site at:
    http://shishmaref.bssd.org/birdsofshishmaref/
  •  05-09-2008, 1:36 AM 36651 in reply to 36371

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    No other takers?  Not even Snowy or Barred?
    Ken Stenek
    Shishmaref, Alaska

    Check out my NEW Birds of Shishmaref site at:
    http://shishmaref.bssd.org/birdsofshishmaref/
  •  05-09-2008, 7:22 AM 36677 in reply to 36360

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    I will take a shot, I am by no means an expert of birds, especially shorebirds of Alaska.

    I would say a glaucous gull, a glaucous winged gull and a northern fulmar. 

    By the way, I looked up long-billed dowitcher in the whatbird north america look up and when I put Alaska in as the location LBDO was not listed. 


  •  05-09-2008, 7:24 AM 36680 in reply to 36677

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    I just tried again, on the longbilled dowitcher, and I guess I had extra info in there that didn't match , my goof.Embarrassed
  •  05-09-2008, 7:37 AM 36689 in reply to 36680

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    Looks like I can pick out a Pacific Golden-Plover (unless it's american, really hard to tell with this kind of photo).

    It's really hard to make anything else out, that one smaller shorebird that's pale and has a good wing stripe is going to be really  hard, you can't see anything on it really.

     

     


    featherbrainCool

    Try out my photo quiz!

    Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD!

    "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
  •  05-09-2008, 7:39 AM 36692 in reply to 36689

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    Oh, I think I see a Pec in there?

     


    featherbrainCool

    Try out my photo quiz!

    Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD!

    "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
  •  05-09-2008, 8:29 AM 36709 in reply to 36360

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    Oh, OK, I'll take a stab at it.  I always hate to attempt to draw conclusions from a single distant photo. I didn't respond because I wasn't really certain about these, and I'm still not.

     

    1.  I'm not even certain about the Long-billed Dowitchers. They all have very light tails, which is instead a characteristic of a Short-billed Dowitcher.  I don't know where on the map of Alaska you are, but range may be your best indicator.  You simply can't use the bill length alone to tell them apart.

    2.  I see two birds whose backs look like Wilson's Snipes, but the bill is too short. Maybe pectoral sandpipers, but the bird looks slightly large.

    3.  There is one Tern, and you can't see either the face or the tail, but I'm guessing an Arctic Tern.

    4.  The fourth bird is also a bit of a puzzle.  The size is just a tad smaller than the dowitchers, and it seems to have a plover shape, but none of the plovers have an all gray tail. The closest tail match is a Black-bellied Plover, but the body color is wrong. The body color is more like a golden plover, but the tail is wrong.  The only shore bird that does have a gray tail is a Red Knot, but it also has a gray rump which this bird does not. So I'm just not sure about this one.
     

  •  05-09-2008, 8:32 AM 36711 in reply to 36677

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    roundywaves:

    I will take a shot, I am by no means an expert of birds, especially shorebirds of Alaska.

    I would say a glaucous gull, a glaucous winged gull and a northern fulmar. 

    By the way, I looked up long-billed dowitcher in the whatbird north america look up and when I put Alaska in as the location LBDO was not listed. 

     

    Gulls???  We have both here, haven't seen fulmars but we are supposed to possibly have them here.  LBDO is the USGS abbreviation for Long-billed Dowitcher.  Every bird has a four letter abbr.  For instance, House Sparrow = HOSP.  Simpler to use and other sites use them frequently although this one not so much.  featherbrain has done pretty well.  If the personal information is right on feather's information, we have a lot to learn from this very skilled 15 year old!!!  As a high school teacher, I have learned to not discount our youth and their abilities, KEEP IT UP FB!


    Ken Stenek
    Shishmaref, Alaska

    Check out my NEW Birds of Shishmaref site at:
    http://shishmaref.bssd.org/birdsofshishmaref/
  •  05-16-2008, 5:08 AM 38429 in reply to 36360

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    Will there be a post as to the answers to this quiz and how to tell which birds are which?Thanks
  •  05-16-2008, 7:32 AM 38443 in reply to 38429

    Re: Alaska Quiz 3

    This is an interesting picture.  I'll hazard a guess.

    1) The most numerous I'm going to chalk up to Dowitcher sp. (most likely Short-Billed(see Snowy's response for reasons)) but hard to know without the bird in your hand

    2) The large bird in the 'middle' based on size, colour and legs that are long enough to extend past the tail looks like a Marbled Godwit

    3) The two birds at the lower right of the picture look like Pectoral Sandpipers

    4) I think the 'tern-like' bird on the far side of the photo could be a non-breeding Sanderling based of wing pattern, and tail pattern. 

     Anyways that's my guess.

    Andrew 

     


    Andrew Ritchie
    Victoria, British Columbia
    Formerly St. John's, Newfoundland

    "I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven." - Emily Dickinson

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