[va-bird] Re: Fairfax/Arlington County birds - 11/9
- From: "Cliff Otto" <317tcw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 15:12:33 -0500
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
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
Other related posts: