[texbirds] Possible Curlew Sandpiper in Corpus Christi

  • From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2013 22:48:29 -0400

Hi all -
Yesterday (July 02) afternoon I swung by Tule Lake and the Joe Fulton Trade 
Corridor.   Tule had a bunch of Roseate Spoonbills, a few Wood Storks, a 
smattering of other herons, both cormorants, and a few of the larger 
shorebirds.    The flats nearest to the viewing platforms were all dry and 
cracked - no shorebirds.

The pond at the west end of the Joe Fulton road, as reported by Judy K a few 
days ago, was full of egrets (mostly Snowy), White Ibis, a half a dozen Wood 
Storks, Blue-winged Teal, one Fulvous Whistling-Duck, night herons, etc.

Traveling down to the big ponds on the right and scanning with the scope, there 
were dozens of Wilson's Phalaropes swimming the pond as well as on the far 
shore, 15 - 20 Black Terns, Snowy and Wilson's Plovers, and lots of Least 
Terns, both adults and chicks.

That first big pond has an area about halfway down that sticks out into the 
pond, with small mudflats that continue to the other side - If the water level 
goes down more, it splits the area into two ponds.   Along the back edge was a 
different shorebird.   My very first thought was "dang, that looks like a 
Curlew Sandpiper!"  It was at least 400 yards away, with a lot of heat shimmer 
and a slight breeze - not the greatest viewing conditions.

It was slightly larger than the nearby phalaropes, with a darker head, neck, 
and back than the phals, the bill was medium length and thicker than a 
phalarope's, and the legs were too long.   It was actively walking along the 
edge of the water, picking at stuff.   This is exactly what every Curlew 
Sandpiper has done - constantly walk the water's edge, feeding.    The legs 
were far too long for a Dunlin, which would have been a VERY early record.   
However, they were too short for a Stilt Sandpiper, especially when the bird 
reached down to pick something off the mud - its body angle never went past the 
horizontal, while a Stilt Sp always angles its body down and tilts its tail way 
up while feeding.    Eventually, a Lesser Yellowlegs came close to it, and the 
Lesser was clearly larger overall and taller than this bird.    The Lesser also 
showed very white underparts, while this bird was  duller whitish / gray 
underneath.   It was not a Solitary Sandpiper nor a Spotted, as both have 
different silhouettes and behavioral traits.

I could not make out details like eyeline / head / back patterns - it was too 
far and the seeing conditions were not optimal.   It never flew.   Try as I 
might, I could not find a "better" species name that I could pin on it.

I went back there today (Wednesday) and did not re-find the bird.    However, 
that does not mean that it was not nearby (I did not check Tule Lake), as there 
are more ponds that are not visible from the Joe Fulton Road.

I will probably try again on Thursday morning, when the seeing conditions are 
(hopefully) better.

Oh, yes, the pond at the North end of Joe Fulton had 84 Wood Storks today, but 
not the "big one".


Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi), TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



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