[TN-Bird] Re: "Possible Little Stint" follow up
- From: kde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: Scott Somershoe <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 11:22:55 -0400 (EDT)
Scott,
Thanks. A) for getting word out in the first place, and B) for following
up with details even when they discount the original ID.
This is a great example for us all to follow. For a possible great bird
like this, it is important to get word out quickly for all the reasons you
stated even at the risk of later having to say, 'Oh, nevermind.'
I've known of cases where folks didn't get word out for fear of later
being proven wrong and cases where folks slinked away in shame after they
did put the word out but the original ID was then discounted.
So everyone pay attention... there should be no shame in a false alarm.
Dean Edwards
Knoxville, TN
On Fri, 18 May 2012, Scott Somershoe wrote:
> Sorry for the much delayed follow up to the ?possible Little Stint? report
> from Ensley in Memphis on Wednesday. There was too much to do with
> co-leading the bird course all day Wednesday (and today), assessing photos,
> learning more about the peeps, and the fine details of plumage and other
> characteristics of the birds before I could post one way or the other. I
> thank Chris Sloan for quickly posting it as "possible Little Stint" so others
> in the area could potentially get out there and see if they could spot the
> oddball bird we saw. We felt it was very important to alert others to this
> potential bird ASAP after the observations we had of the bird and our
> knowledge of the species in question at that time.
>
> In very short, the bird we saw was the size of a Least Sandpiper with a
> bright rufous back and head, black legs, and thin, straight bill with no
> droop, among other details. It stood out like a sore thumb from the small
> number of browner and more golden Least Sandpipers that it was hanging out
> with and was very easy to pick out among the 150+ Semipalmated Sandpipers in
> the larger flock. We both independently spotted it with our scopes at about
> 125m and later viewed it from about 70m under good light conditions (all
> picts are useless from 70m+). It was clearly a very different looking peep.
> The bird was much redder and brighter than even a juvenile plumage Least
> Sandpiper.
>
> The details we saw on the bird at 70m appeared to eliminate everything but a
> Little Stint, hence the post on TN-Birds. In the end, our independently
> written field notes do not eliminate Least Sandpiper. Notes were completed
> before skimming through all the field guides and the Shorebird Guide by
> O'Brien, Crossley, and Karlson. In fact, two specific details we noted are
> wrong for Little Stint (which I was not aware of at the time), including size
> of the bird (all stints are a bit larger than a Least and are almost
> Semipalmated Sandpiper size, while I actually thought the bird appeared
> slightly smaller) and wing projection was not long enough (wings did not
> protrude beyond the tail). The aforementioned specific plumage
> characteristics and size differences we did not know about in the field,
> which now leads me to believe the bird was not a stint.
>
> The bird we watched was the oddest peep I've ever seen; however all photos
> where you can actually see a bird are Least Sandpipers. From the combined
> evidence of the details we saw, additional info from discussions about ID and
> plumage variations, and lots of photos of Least Sandpipers, I feel that
> realistically it was likely a Least Sandpiper with some very odd features
> (some mentioned above). The bird was very much an oddball.
>
> Regardless, it was a very interesting bird and with the knowledge we had at
> the time, I felt it important to give the chance to others to check it out.
> That bird was very much a weirdo! I learned a lot about the finer details of
> these birds as a result. Birding is always an adventure and learning
> experience!
>
> Time for sleep!
>
> Good (albeit confusing) birds!
> Scott Somershoe
>
>
>
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