|
Shorebirds are definitely a challenge but don't
let them discourage you!
"Knowing" them will require study and
practice--with a field guide in your hands!
When possible, go birding with a qualified (and
sympathetic) shorebird expert.
The Solitary Sandpiper is
frequently
misidentified as Lesser Yellowlegs but is
a nice bird to add to the intermediate
level birder's skills.
Bold,
continuous white eye rings and
shorter, olive legs distinguish Solitary
Sandpiper
from Lesser Yellowlegs. Lesser
Yellowlegs
also have a uniformly dark bill.
(Birds of North America, Nat. Geo.
Society)
|
|
The Silly
Solitary
Solitary Sandpipers
have been doing well in a tundra bog habitat near
our home.
Watching for movement in wetlands is a great way to
test one's resistance to mosquitos
but the rewards can be worth the bites. A nice
reward is hiding in the area marked with the pale
blue box.
|
|
Zoom in a bit and we see...
A shorebird for certain but what
species?
|
Zoom in some more to see...
...a nice example of the Solitary Sandpiper.
Now zoom back a bit to see if there are more
surprises. Of course there are! Would I tease
you?
What is that little
brown thing?
Zoom again and"Ooh baby! Look at that!"
A baby sandpiper and look at those blue feet! I bet
those long toes are great for walking on the
floating plants!
The Solitary Sandpiper adult stayed very close but
this little peeper never moved. I suspect the
parent
or baby already saw me hiding in the bushes.
This baby has been in all the previous photos
except the close-ups of the parent! Did you see
it?
I bet
you missed the babies and want a second chance!
Babies? Yes, I found another one! (I love
"zoom"!)
This downy little peeper moved a lot and was fun to
watch.
It was still wobbly and kept tripping or falling
off things. These babies are very young!
I stood up to move closer for better shots of the
babies but...
The adult saw me, started calling "Tew tew
tew..." very loudly. It started hopping up into
the air and
falling back down, came toward me with bouncy
little flaps to steal my attention away from the
babies!
She jumped and flapped until I moved to take her
picture then she headed away from the babies
with
more of her silly bouncing. I took several pictures
but they all were blurry with her constant
motion.
When I quit following her to photograph the babies
again the adult flew up, landed between me and
the babies. Then the act started the act all over
again. "Tew tew tew tew..." louder than
ever. What a show!
Another sandpiper (the other parent?) flew in
from the trees and joined the dancing act.
...so...
Were the bazillion mosquito bites I suffered
worth the silly show and
seeing baby Solitary Sandpipers for the first
time?
....*Itchy, scratch, scratch!*....
Absolutely! What a wonderful evening of
birding!
...but blue legs and feet? I
never would have guessed blue!
I hope you enjoyed sneaking up on Solitary
Sandpipers.
-
All photos and
narratives contained in this document and/or in
the
Birds of Interior Alaska website were created by
and copyrighted to ©Jim Gilbert.
6/2001.
|
