11 Jul 2005
The following are postings from various birders regarding a Curlew Sandpiper (basic plumage) seen in Cell 2 at Pt. Mouillee today by Matt Hysell and Cathy Carroll. (most recent first).
Hello! Maybe a few bits of information about the Curlew Sandpiper from the German member of the list?
I am not really into aging shorebirds that much, but I would agree that the Curlew Sandpiper is very, very likely in its second calendar year. Right now, Curlew Sandpipers should still largely show breeding plumage which this bird clearly has no traces of. Furthermore, all feathers are evenly worn and there are no significant signs of moult. This is quite an unusual age to see up north. We don't often notice it here on the Baltic Sea coast amongst the few hundred Curlew Sandpipers we get during the course of a year. I was lucky to spend quite some time in southern Africa a few years ago on the wintering grounds of the species. Visiting the coastal lagoons
there in July, you can see thousands and thousands of second calendar year Curlew Sandpipers and hardly any adults (probably less than 0.1%). So it seems that most spend their first year down south on the wintering grounds and only start breeding when they are two years old. Furthermore, Curlew Sandpipers have only started to occur here on migration a few days ago and are still far from reaching their peak. The ones we get now are almost 100% adults. So it really is not only a very good record for Michigan, it is also quite an interesting record in general.
Good Birding!!
Jochen Roeder
Birders, I received this message from Alan Wormington (from Ontario) regarding aging of the Curlew Sandpiper. I'm passing it on as useful to know about aging of shorebirds. I thanked Alan for his comments.
Cathy Carroll
Dearborn, MI
Probably your bird is a one-year-old, an age that most field guides simply do not illustrate. There is no rationale for calling the bird an adult, since all adult Curlew Sandpipers right now would be in summer plumage. One-year-olds of any shorebird species essentially look like winter (basic) plumage and most spend the summer on their wintering range (although many drift north well into the northern hemisphere).
Ontario has one such record of a Curlew Sandpiper in this plumage
(one-year-old in basic plumage) -- it was in early June.
Hope this helps.
Alan
Seen this evening by me, Sabrina Hepburn, Mike Sefton and Bob Arthurs, from the southwest side of Cell 2. Patience helped us see the white rump and wing bars. Dark legs and curved bill were obvious, though the legs can get mud-covered. Also Wilson's Phalarope, pair of King Rails, young Moorhen, 2 Stilt Sandpipers, many Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers.
Beautiful sunset...........
Dea
****************************************************
Deaver D. Armstrong
City Ornithologist
Natural Area Preservation Division
City of Ann Arbor Department Park Operations
1831 Traver Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
734-996-3266
My dad and I along with Craig Bateman arrived at mouillee today at around 3:30. Cell 2 was unbelievably shallow and dry! We quickly spotted the two King Rails on the other side of the water. They were coming and going through the openings in the reed. After scanning some more we finally came upon the Curlew Sandpiper and also near it was the Wilson's Phalarope. We could see the slight down curve in the bill and the very dark legs. A few trucks passing along the dike flushed most of the birds including the Curlew Sanpiper and we could clearly see the wing pattern and the all white rump. We were able to get good enough views of this bird to get a positive ID.
Also the security guard at the Robert's road parking lot apologized for the other guard's ridiculous actions.
Good luck and Good Birding
Kevin Welsh, 15
Novi, MI
Have posted a couple of my pictures from this morning on the grove
street site. There's many more which show some other finer points but
these are the best summary images.
Props to Cathy for lugging a book all the way out there and for
persistently challenging the ID I'd originally settled on. (see mich-listers for her description)
the grove street site:
http://www.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/photos.html
Matt
From: Cathy Carroll
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 13:56:30 -0400
Found by Matt Hysell. Have just returned from watching this bird with Matt
for the better part of two hours. As I was leaving I met Tex Wells who was
walking in to see the bird.
When I joined Matt this morning at cell 2 he commented that he'd seen a
basic plumage Stilt Sandpiper that he tried to make into a Curlew Sandpiper.
Later when I saw the bird for the first time I didn't know what it was and
asked Matt who said, "that's the bird I tried to turn into a Curlew
Sandpiper." One of my reasons for going to Pt. Moo this morning was to see the Wilson's Phalarope (which Matt had to find for me) and to get good looks at Stilt Sandpipers which I've not seen many times. I spent my first 15-20 minutes studying two Stilt Sandpipers which were still in alternate plummage and later while scanning for the phalarope I saw 3 or 4 more Stilts also in alternate plumage. So when I first saw this "basic plumage Stilt," it just didn't seem right to me. I asked Matt if he would take another look at the bird. Why would this bird be in full, basic plumage when the "other" Stilts were in the same alternate plumage? I checked Sibley for some field marks - the two birds are strikingly similar in basic plumage - but, the field marks that are different are, as Matt said, unequivocal. One is black legs for the Curlew and yellow/green legs for the Stilt. We both checked to make sure that the bird did not have muddy legs that would make them appear black. The other field mark is a wing strip on the Curlew that the Stilt does not have. We had to be more patient to see this, but the bird revealed the wing strip when preening and it flew short distances a couple of times with the wing strip easily seen by both of us. After watching the bird for some time, (one time Matt had the Curlew and a Stilt in the same field of view), other structural differences were noted - the bird wasn't as tall so it probed differently and it remained essentially alone, while the Stilts were usually with one or two others. At Tex's suggestion we also considered basic plumage Dunlin but the structure and the rump, when seen in flight, were not right for a Dunlin. Also, other plumage differences were not right for Dunlin.
Matt has his camera and is trying to get good photos, but the bright sun was making this difficult. Still, we were most often very close to the bird so I am sure that he will get something reasonable. Matt is also going to
write the bird up for the records committee.
For anyone wishing to chase this bird, I can say with reasonable confidence that Curlew Sandpiper is the correct ID. Still, it's a life bird for both me and Matt (and I'm a relatively novice shorebirder) so ... I'll leave it at that. If you go, dress appropriately for biting flies and sunburn.
Good luck,
Cathy Carroll
Dearborn, MI
12 Jul 2005
1530 Hrs. I was able to see the Curlew Sandpiper in Cell 2 of Pt. Mouillee SGA this afternoon at 3:30pm with the help of master bird spotter Alex Dopp (thanks, Alex!). Skies were overcast, the cell just about dry, windy, and the Curlew Sandpiper far out on the other side of the mudflats.
Bottom line? - lousy digiscoping conditions. I made an attempt, anyways, and have the following to offer (no Arthur Morris am I, but they're better than the pictures of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker...tic).
The best portrait shots I could get:
Just before takeoff - note the white wingstripe, decurved bill, black legs, and white rump
Size of the bird relative to Lesser Yellowlegs
and Short-billed Dowitcher
and Least Sandpipers
I was also able to get a couple decent images of a Stilt Sandpiper
And a couple of Short-billed Dowitchers
Rob Epstein and Darlene Friedman showed up shortly after Alex left, but we were unable to find the Curlew Sandpiper for the next hour or so. Even the great Tim Smart was no help. But Darlene was finally successful finding the bird among numerous Lesser Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers and we were able to see it in flight several times as trucks rumbled by and birds spooked each other.
The added bonus was (4) King Rails on the opposite bank - 2 adults and 2 fledgelings.
And, as Bruce Bowman reported earlier today, the cell is about 90-95% dry. Unless we see rain in the next day or so, all of the birds may leave.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 12, 2005 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: I was able to see the Curlew Sandpiper in Cell 2 of Pt. Mouillee SGA this afternoon at 3:30pm with the help of master bird spotter Alex Dopp (thanks, Alex!). Skies were overcast, the cell just about dry, windy, and the Curlew Sandpiper far out on the other side of the mudflats. Bottom line? - lousy digiscoping conditions. I made an attempt, anyways, and have the following to
offer.
From: Cathy Carroll
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 13:56:30 -0400
Found by Matt Hysell. Have just returned from watching this bird with Matt
for the better part of two hours. As I was leaving I met Tex Wells who was
walking in to see the bird.
When I joined Matt this morning at cell 2 he commented that he'd seen a
basic plumage Stilt Sandpiper that he tried to make into a Curlew Sandpiper.
Later when I saw the bird for the first time I didn't know what it was and
asked Matt who said, "that's the bird I tried to turn into a Curlew
Sandpiper." One of my reasons for going to Pt. Moo this morning was to see the Wilson's Phalarope (which Matt had to find for me) and to get good looks at Stilt Sandpipers which I've not seen many times. I spent my first 15-20 minutes studying two Stilt Sandpipers which were still in alternate plummage and later while scanning for the phalarope I saw 3 or 4 more Stilts also in alternate plumage. So when I first saw this "basic plumage Stilt," it just didn't seem right to me. I asked Matt if he would take another look at the bird. Why would this bird be in full, basic plumage when the "other" Stilts were in the same alternate plumage? I checked Sibley for some field marks -
the two birds are strikingly similar in basic plumage - but, the field marks
that are different are, as Matt said, unequivocal. One is black legs for
the Curlew and yellow/green legs for the Stilt. We both checked to make
sure that the bird did not have muddy legs that would make them appear
black. The other field mark is a wing strip on the Curlew that the Stilt
does not have. We had to be more patient to see this, but the bird revealed the wing strip when preening and it flew short distances a couple of times with the wing strip easily seen by both of us. After watching the bird for some time, (one time Matt had the Curlew and a Stilt in the same field of view), other structural differences were noted - the bird wasn't as tall so it probed differently and it remained essentially alone, while the Stilts were usually with one or two others. At Tex's suggestion we also considered basic plumage Dunlin but the structure and the rump, when seen in flight, were not right for a Dunlin. Also, other plumage differences were not right for Dunlin.
Matt has his camera and is trying to get good photos, but the bright sun was making this difficult. Still, we were most often very close to the bird so I am sure that he will get something reasonable. Matt is also going to
write the bird up for the records committee.
For anyone wishing to chase this bird, I can say with reasonable confidence that Curlew Sandpiper is the correct ID. Still, it's a life bird for both me and Matt (and I'm a relatively novice shorebirder) so ... I'll leave it at that. If you go, dress appropriately for biting flies and sunburn.
4 species
King Rail (Rallus elegans) 4 2 Adults and 2 fledglings were seen by several birders, all of whom were at Cell 2 to see the Curlew Sandpiper. Large rail.
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 1
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) 1 Originally found by Matt Hysell and Cathy Carroll (see her description below) and later Tex Wells. At 1530 Hrs. I was able to see the Curlew Sandpiper in Cell 2 of Pt. Mouillee SGA this afternoon at 3:30pm with the help of master bird spotter Alex Dopp (thanks, Alex!). Skies were overcast, the cell just about dry, windy, and the Curlew Sandpiper far out on the other side of the mudflats. Bottom line? - lousy digiscoping conditions. I made an attempt, anyways, and have the following to offer (no Arthur Morris am I, but they're better than the pictures of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker...tic).
The best portrait shots I could get
Just before takeoff - note the white wingstripe, decurved bill, black legs, and white rump
Size of the bird relative to Lesser Yellowlegs
and Short-billed Dowitcher
and Least Sandpipers
Rob Epstein and Darlene Friedman showed up shortly after Alex left, but we were unable to find the Curlew Sandpiper for the next hour or so. Even the great Tim Smart was no help. But Darlene was finally successful finding the bird among numerous Lesser Yellowlegs and Dowitchers and we were able to see it in flight several times as trucks rumbled by and birds spooked each other.
The added bonus was (4) King Rails on the opposite bank - 2 adults and 2 fledgelings.
And, as Bruce Bowman reported earlier today, the cell is about 90-95% dry. Unless we see rain in the next day or so, all of the birds may leave.
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 2 See pics; alternate plumage; foraging among SBDO and LEYE
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41831481
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
18 Jul 2005
Ontario bird listers (Alan Wormington) have reported a Curlew Sandpiper near Holiday Beach. Alan posted my images of the bird from Pt. Moo for reference. Cool! He thinks its the same bird.
