Hi Cliff,
First, I want to make clear that I, too, am far from being an expert
regarding these shorebirds. I have yet to see a Stilt Sandpiper, have seen
only a few Dunlin, all in breeding plumage, and have seen few dowitchers as
well.
Having said that, and having just looked at the photo you posted yesterday,
I can say that your photo looks exactly like the bird that I and others saw
today (I had started to download the image yesterday but it was taking too
long and I was tired, so I didn't look at it.). The notes I took match your
photo as well, so I'd be willing to bet we both saw the same individual
bird.
My observation today differed from yours in that I never did see the bird's
legs. However, I did note two other things. First, it was in the company of
3 snipe, so a size comparison was possible. The bird in question was
slightly smaller than the snipe. Second, when it was feeding, I noticed that
it held it's body level, as opposed to tilting it's tail upward (as the
Stilt Sandpiper is depicted in the Sibley guide).
The possibility of it being a dowitcher was brought up today as well.
According to my field guides, though, a dowitcher would have been at least
as big as the snipe, maybe bigger, and would have had a lighter colored
bill, a prominent "eyebrow" and some other differences in plumage.
I tried really, really hard to turn this bird into my life Stilt Sandpiper,
but just couldn't do it with any certainty. Based on what I had read last
night when I was reading up on the Stilt, I was expecting a bird with a
prominent "eyebrow" and a noticeable scalloped pattern on it's back. I
planned to withold ID'ing the bird until I could get home and compare my
notes with my field guides. Fortunately, a nice guy with a nice scope showed
up and confidently ID'd it as a Dunlin. When I came home and consulted my
guides, I believed him to be correct (I believed him when he ID'd it too(!),
but I always like to check things out myself). I think the photo fits Dunlin
as well, now that I've had time to study it.
So, I think we both came close to seeing a Stilt Sandpiper, but will have to
"settle" for a Dunlin.
Of course, if anyone with more expertise wants to tell me this is a Stilt
(and make a good case for it), I'd be happy to check it off my list....
Still Stiltless,
Andy Rabin
Reston, VA
andyrabin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cliff Otto" <317tcw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 3:12 PM
Subject: [va-bird] Re: Fairfax/Arlington County birds - 11/9
Andy Rabin wrote on Sun, 9 Nov 2003 14:14:49 -0500:email to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
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
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