FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Re: Fairfax/Arlington County birds - 11/9

["Cliff Otto" <317tcw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andy Rabin wrote on Sun, 9 Nov 2003 14:14:49 -0500:
>
>The last stop of the morning was at Huntley Meadows in search of the 
>Stilt Sandpiper reported yesterday. Strike two!

I was asked off-list whether the bird I reported as a Stilt Sandpiper 
might not have been a Dunlin instead. There were *many* birders who 
observed this bird through binoculars and spotting scopes and the 
argument centered around whether the bird was a stilt or a dowitcher.

Before I saw the bird, I heard its feeding action described as "sewing 
machine"-like, and when I actually saw it, I thought it a most accurate 
description. I think this was the primary reason no one thought of 
calling it a Dunlin. It was the consensus that the droop at the end of 
the bill was the telling point between stilt and dowitcher. Also, one 
person clsims to have seen a part of its leg and that it was yellow.

The question is whether your Dunlin was actually the Stilt Sandpiper, or 
whether our Stilt Sandpiper was actually a Dunlin, or whether we each saw 
the bird we identified. I certainly am not presenting myself as any 
authority on the identification of birds and am willing to bow to 
superior knowledge for the sake of accuracy.

Cliff Otto
Alexandria, VA

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