Saturday, November 15, 2014

World Shorebird’s Day Challenges me with some Mystery Birds

1. Yellowlegs-kab Yellowlegs in Flight at Wharton Point 9-6-14

I’ll make no bones about it. I am still learning my shorebirds, so when I went out to count birds on World Shorebirds Day at Wharton’s Point in Brunswick, Maine, wouldn’t you know I would encounter some bird species I could not identify. This is, of course, an excellent opportunity to learn, but I think I need some help with some of these. I could tell they were different, but have yet to figure out who they are! However, I do know Black-bellied Plovers and Double-crested Cormorants when I see them!

DSC_0164Black-bellied Plovers with Double-crested Cormorants in the bay.

 

DSC_0166 Double-crested Cormorants in Maquoit Bay 9-6-14

These Snowy Egrets below were pretty easy to figure out!

DSC_0167 In spite of the tall grasses, their white feathers are a beacon against the green and gold!

But then I spotted this fellow bobbing in the waves!

DSC_0170 Mystery Bird #1

Notice the way is rides in the water. It is different than a gull.

DSC_0168 This is it in comparison to some gulls. The mystery bird is on the right.

Suddenly the bird took flight and I snapped some shots.

DSC_0173 Notice the gray to brownish breast, the white belly, the dark legs, and the gray to brown terminal band on the tail. I cannot find a picture like this in my bird guide, except maybe a jaeger? Perhaps a shearwater? But I could not find one colored like this.

DSC_0174 Here’s another shot as it banked and turned.

 

DSC_0175 This is hugely cropped, but this is the best view from below.

Any ideas anyone?

Update: I now believe this is a Parasitic Jaeger and have added it to my eBird checklist for this day! (see correction below)

11-19-14 **Double Update: This is an immature Laughing gull!  

I have now deleted Jaeger from my eBird checklist and added Laughing Gull. Thank you Doug Hitchcock and Kyle Lima for your help!

DSC_0179 This Greater Yellowlegs is much easier to identify!

 

DSC_0182 I love to watch them feeding in the water by sweeping their heads back and forth!

You can see that those long legs are very useful!

 

DSC_0184 Front view of the Greater yellowlegs in the surf.

But then there were these two to baffle me again.

DSC_0191 They are about the size of a Black-bellied plover, but the bill isn’t right.

 

DSC_0193 

DSC_0194 

DSC_0195 Any ideas anyone with more shorebird experience than me?

In the shot below you can see their size in relation to the yellowlegs.

Once I get this figured out I will post the answers here.

World Shorebird’s Day sure was fun as well as a challenge!

DSC_0199 Now that winter is almost here, all these shorebirds are long gone.

But the good news is, we have our winter birds returning!

DSC_0200

9 comments:

  1. This looks like the light morph of a subadult Parasitic Jaeger. It does pass through that area during migration. Don't think it's a Skua. Well, that's just my 4 cents anyhow.....

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  2. It's hard to tell from the Photos and because we have different shorebirds to you, Kathie, but could they possibly be Knots?

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    1. Happy wanderer, I don't know. I will have to check that out. Thanks for the tip.

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    2. Oh my goodness, happy wanderer, you might be right! I just looked it up and this could be them in winter plumage! The size, bill, and coloring all look right! THANK YOU!

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  3. Most shore birds are a mystery to me Kathie, I just don't see enough of them. Great shot of the Egrets.

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    1. Me too, Roy! and this time of year is especially challenging!

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  4. Having looked up my books Kathie, it could very well be a Knot as Happy Wanderers has said. We get them in Winter on the shoreline, but they are quite a Globe trotter and the plumage varies so much over the year.

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    1. Roy, I finally posted to a bird ID group and the consensus is these are Semipalmated Sandpipers. They just looked so big to me in comparison to the yellowlegs that I was confused. So...mystery solved! Thank you for trying to help!

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.