I noticed that ebird had a report, from September 19th, for the Bar-tailed
Godwit by a Mr. Bob Ringler. Here are his details:
"Non-breeding plumage. Size was considerably smaller than the accompanying
Western Willets and Marbled Godwits. The brown upperparts contrasted with the
gray of the Willets and were streaked, appearing as striations running down the
wings. The underparts were mostly white with fine dark chevrons on the lower
flanks. The slightly upturned bill was long and two-tone with a pinkish basal
half and dark distal half. When the bird preened it spread the wings far enough
to see the upper surface of the tail which was white with narrow dark bars."
If anyone has positive or negative reports of the Bar-tailed Godwit, please
continue to post to VA-bird, if possible. Some folks might not have access to
VA-bird or time to post. I know there are many things to be accomplished in
life, but it is good to see those reports. Ebird is great, but there are many
details that ebird does not provide. With a rarity such as this species, I
might be making a big assumption that there are still folks out there who wish
to see it, but knowing the actual length of stay and location changes by this
bird is useful for historical records too.
Elisa Enders
Portsmouth, VA
