[TN-Bird] Re: "Possible Little Stint" follow up
- From: kbreault <kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx, TN-Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:13 -0700 (PDT)
You certainly had us going for a while, Scott! Pehaps it would be useful for
those less experienced to talk about these birds. In TN the most common peeps
at
this time of year are going to be Semipalmated and the smaller, Least
Sandpiper.
Assuming you have those down (and don't forget Western, much more common in the
fall), when should you consider these stints from Siberia and
Eurasia? (Certainly, for less experienced birders photographic evidence is
important for these rare birds but at least we can help you decide when to pick
up your camera.) In the field, size and color will be helpful. As noted in
Scott's email, Red-necked and Little Stints will generally be the same size and
shape as the Semipalmated, while Least will look markedly smaller. Typically,
Red-necked Stints will be very red (unmistakably so) on the throat, and Little
Stints will look reddish/rufous compared to the other common peeps but note
that
the Little will have a large white throat and usually dark spots on the sides
of
the breast. Now (and here we get into the major confusion for the group), some
Red-necks will show much less red on the throat and be similar to Littles (why
do they do this to us!), so good photographic evidence for Littles is very
important even for experts. (Books will talk about the colored edges of the
coverts and tertials in the Little, but especially at a distance this may not
be
easy to see.) Thus,
Size/shape of Semipalmated = stint if reddish/rufous.
-Reddish/rufous stint = Red-necked Stint if very red on throat (easy version)
-Reddish/rufous stint, lots of white on throat = Little if red/rufous color on
edges of coverts/tertials (note that unlike what some books say the Little may
not have any orange on breast)
Thanks to Chris and Scott for telling us about this unusual bird and these
exciting possibilities.
Kevin Breault
Brentwood, TN
________________________________
From: Scott Somershoe <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
To: TN-Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, May 17, 2012 11:22:51 PM
Subject: [TN-Bird] "Possible Little Stint" follow up
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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