Long-billed Dowitchers - 14 Oct 2026

I left Sterling State Park and drove north toward Pt. Mouillee SGA. Justin Labadie had reported 3 Baird's Sandpipers continuing along the South Causeway so I was curious if any Long-billed Dowitchers might be among them. 

My luck held, and when I arrived at 10:30 am there were 3 Long-billed Dowitchers foraging in the open waters just north of the mud flats.

I suspect all three to be juveniles with two of the individuals in a more advanced pre-basic molt while the 3rd show more of the juvenile plumage (orange feathers and cripst fringes). All three showed plain tertials that support LBDO (tertials on SBDO would show tiger-stripes). The bills were also long and straight; if you look at some images it appears that the head is pulled up as far from the water but the tip is still submerged.

I would walk around to the dike along the west shoreline of the Humphries to get a different view of the dowitchers.

Below are some identification notes w/ sources:

Additional reference articles worth a look:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54b9bb6fe4b07b4a7d145b55/t/54edd57be4b0978eebcea523/1424872827140/2006LeeBirchDowitcher.pdf

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=14929&context=auk

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aba.org/birding_archive_files/v37n4p380.pdf

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://hawkowlpublishing.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/dowitchers.pdf

And not to ignore the other shorebirds, there were also a few Lesser Yellowlegs, 

Greater Yellowlegs,

Pectoral Sandpipers,

and the 3 Baird's Sandpipers that continue from when I first saw them a few days ago.

A pair of Wood Ducks flew overhead just before I left.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
Oct 14, 2026 10:40 AM - 11:12 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.672 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, calm, 63F. South Causeway shorebirding.
9 species

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  6
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  3     Plain tertials. Suspect all 3 to be juveniles with 2 showing advanced pre-basic molt and 1 showing more of the juvenile, orange and dark feathers w/ crisp fringes. Bills are long and straight. Did not see inner wing lining for white armpits. Pics.
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  3
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  2
Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)  3     Continuing. Pics.
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S402274863

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)