[obol] Re: RBA: Long-toed Stint at Nehalem Sewage Ponds
- From: Bob <rflores_2@xxxxxxx>
- To: "davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx" <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 14:06:59 -0700
Does anyone have an update on this?
Sent from my iPad
> On Jul 23, 2014, at 10:53, "David Bailey" <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> Wednesday 23 July 2014
> Tillamook County, Oregon
> Nehalem Sewage Ponds
> NE pond along the North rock-edged shore
>
> In the company of adult Pectoral Sandpipers (three) and in direct comparison
> to at least one that was less than a foot away was a dull-yellow-legged
> Calidrid in adult plumage with a very obvious pale base to the bill, a
> strikingly (given how many Least Sandpipers on which I have looked for this
> trait over the years) obvious dark cap that seamlessly met the upper
> mandible, pale whitish supercillium widening behind the eye, obvious white
> eye-ring, coverts and tertials collectively making a paler panel of plumage
> compared to the darker scapulars and mantle, and to top it all off the bird
> had that upright and long-necked stance that, of course Least perform when
> startled or alert (and frequently enough that it is not a diagnostic field
> mark), but this bird kept this stance throughout and looked pretty odd for
> doing so, very much more like a Sharp-tailed or Pectoral Sandpiper than a
> Least. Perhaps because of this, or other structural nuances, the stint
> appeared to be about 2/3 the size of the adjacent Pectoral Sandpiper--giving
> the impression of being more the size of a Western Sandpiper than a Least.
> The plumage of the bird was overall worn and not showing much color, though I
> was viewing it under overcast skies and through light rain. The birds flew
> off and all I heard were the obvious calls of Pectoral Sandpipers and perhaps
> a call from the peep, but I heard no sounds typical of Least Sandpiper. I did
> not see the toes well enough on the standing bird (due to my viewing angle)
> or in flight to assess their relative lengths. The Tarsus did appear long on
> the standing bird and probably contributed to the impression that the bird
> was much larger than a typical Least Sandpiper.
>
> To be sure, I am not trying to start any sort of Asian stint fever, and were
> my observations in sum to come to me as a member of the Oregon Birds Records
> Committee, of which I am a former member, I would vote to not accept this
> record due to the fact that all these field marks are supportive and subtle
> with nothing solid to hang my hat on so to speak. I made a personal promise
> to myself long ago to be sure to avoid being stringy when it comes to
> identification, especially when it came to small sandpipers in the genus
> Calidris, and especially so with Long-toed Stint, I can say without
> hesitation that the peep/stint I saw this morning at the Nehalem Sewage Ponds
> so stood out given the marks I have listed that I feel it warrants an RBA on
> the chance that others can get out there today or tomorrow to photo-document
> this potential (and I saw that with emphasis again, "potential") mega-rarity
> for our region. At the risk of being redundant let me restate that Long-toed
> stint makes for an exceedingly difficult identification and that the bird of
> interest I saw today was in worn adult plumage.
>
> I think it likely that the bird may be hanging around the ponds as the three
> PECTORAL SANDPIPERS are staging there assuming that they are the same adults
> I noted yesterday and the weather has taken a turn for the worse in regard to
> good weather for migrating. In other somewhat be related odd shorebird
> migration news three adult RED KNOTS flew a couple circles around the ponds
> before heading out to the the NW while I was there with this peep too.
>
> I Still haven't relocated the Bank Swallow I found there last week.
>
>
> David
>
> David C. Bailey
> Manzanita, Oregon for the summer
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