CoastieBirder Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Going through some old pics. 1. Stilt Sandpiper? 2. Wilsons Plover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Agreed on #1. Wilson's Plover would be extremely rare for the Salton Sea, and they would have a black band that wraps all the way around the chest. I think this is a Snowy Plover. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Yep, Snowy Plover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 The first bird is a Willet -- some of the white wing stripe is even visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Willet Snowy Plover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Tony Leukering said: The first bird is a Willet -- some of the white wing stripe is even visible. That bill is awfully thin and decurved for a Willet and the structure is way off. It looks like a leucistic Stilt Sandpiper. Edited March 31, 2020 by akandula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That bill is awfully thin for a Willet and the structure is way off. It looks like a leucistic Stilt Sandpiper. This bird has an eye-ring which fits with Willet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 minute ago, Jefferson Shank said: This bird has an eye-ring which fits with Willet. Stilts Sandpipers also have thin white eyerings. Structure rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) The back pattern doesn't fit with Stilt Sandpiper. It fits for Willet, so does the the barring on its sides and belly. Here, I cropped and brightened it a bit so we can see it better. Edited March 31, 2020 by Jefferson Shank 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 16 minutes ago, Jefferson Shank said: The back pattern doesn't fit with Stilt Sandpiper. It fits for Willet, so does the the barring on its sides and belly. It's just molting into breeding plumage. Once again, structure rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 47 minutes ago, akandula said: That bill is awfully thin and decurved for a Willet and the structure is way off. It looks like a leucistic Stilt Sandpiper. I see what you're saying with Stilt but I'm not sure that's right. Barring on the sides and structure do look Stilt Sand like. If this is a Willet, it's a Western Willet, which have thinner bills than Eastern. The white in the wing here could be leucism, but something other than that just doesn't look right for Stilt to me. Bird seems really chunky for a species that shouldn't be much larger than a Dunlin. Bill also looks rather straight for Stilt I would think. Not sure either way, but just some thoughts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Willet for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 After I stared at it enough, I can see Western Willet. Thanks for the correction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nivalis Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I believe it to be a willet as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Western Willet bills don't look like that. But I can't explain away the white wing patch, since the individual feather pattern looks identical to a Willet, and the plumage looks better for Willet. Any ideas why the bill would be so wrong? Hybrid? Edited March 31, 2020 by Melierax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I'm really struggling to see this as a Willet. The neck is very slender and it doesn't have a Willet's stocky appearance. Also, the bill is slender and slightly drooping, which is a good match for Stilt Sandpiper. Willet would have a much thicker bill. Not sure about the plumage, but structure definitely looks off for a Willet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nivalis Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I think that the bill size to body size ratio is off for a stilted because as you can see here stilted sandpipers have a noticeably long bill for there body size (lesser yellow legs in background) I also believe that the bird in the picture up top does not have nearly as obvious downturn as this bird does, although i do still agree that a willet doesn't quite fit here either because of the less stocky build of the bird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nivalis Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 oops sorry the picture loaded twice for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That is definitely a Willet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean C Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Willet and Snowy Plover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 This is a great thread, not at all stilted, but willet ever end? 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nivalis Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 hours ago, HamRHead said: This is a great thread, not at all stilted, but willet ever end? I just skimmered through it. Somewhere it took an ugly tern. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Agree with Willet (an ugly one though). Stilt Sandpiper looks more like a long-legged Dunlin with Dowitcher-style foraging technique Edited March 31, 2020 by AlexHenry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 19 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: I just skimmered through it. Somewhere it took an ugly tern. I'm shore it wasn't intentional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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