When I started birding, the American 'whimbrel' was the Hudsonian Curlew;
(*Numenius hudsonicus*, a full species) probably based upon it's first
discovery in the
New World in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay. Apparently forces are now
working
to change back, back from curlew to whimbrel. Whatever.
A couple of weeks ago I had a brief excitement at the SJCR. I knew Jeff
Gilligan & others
had seen the Eurasian subspecies many years ago on Sunset Beach, and when a
flock of
nine curlews aka whimbrels decided on a brief stopover (from the
whirlwinds) at the 'ponds',
I was ready with my camera. Through the viewfinder, one appeared to have a
white rump!
Alas, viewing the photos later on the computer screen showed the white to
be the underside,
not the rump.
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