#21-B-06
Species reported: Short-billed Dowitcher How many?: 6
Reporter (please include address, phone, e-mail):
Cliff Weisse
208-558-7789
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com
Other observers:
Date and time of
record:
Date report prepared:
Locality:
Habitat:
Conditions: (weather, light, distance, optical aids, duration, etc.): Bright sunny afternoon with little or no cloud cover, temperature about 55 degrees, with sun high and behind observer. Preceeding weather was quite windy with winds from the north or northeast and occasional rain showers and thunderstorms for two days prior to sighting. Viewed through binoculars and spotting scope at distance of 30-40 yards. Binocs were Nikon Premier 10x42 and scope was Swarovski 80mm HD @20-60x for approximately 1 hour.
Description of bird(s): Overall rufous on underparts with variable black barring and spotting on flanks, upperparts overall black with buff, orange and white markings. All six appeared to be in fresh breeding plumage with the exception of a variable number of retained basic wing coverts on all six.
-All six had bills with pale greenish tinged base (about 20%)
-All six had primaries visible beyond longest tertial (on three individuals I could see the tips of at least 2 primaries)
-During relaxed foraging backs flat and body attenuated in direct comparison to fatter/chunkier bodied and hunch-backed appearance of Long-billed Dowitchers
-Bills on some birds shorter than Long-billeds present
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-on at least two individuals the black markings on the sides of the upper breast forward of the flank barring were round spots
-two individuals had round black spots on undertails coverts, one of which had clean white undertail coverts with no hint of orange
-flank markings on some individuals were short dashes, not wide bars across the width of the feathers but not quite round spots either, rather short sort of oval shaped markings with the long axis up and down
-Flank barring on one bird fairly extensive with mixed black and white on orange background. Individual flank feathers on this individual were orange with narrow black subterminal bar and white tip about twice as wide as black bars giving overall impression of orange, black and white bars
-All six had dense fine black spotting across upper breast
Behavior of bird(s): Foraging, preening and roosting in tight flock with 2 Long-billed Dowitcher. The never took flight and never vocalized despite becoming quite nervous and running a short distance when a flock of gulls and terns flushed and gave alarm calls about 75 yards away.
List similar species and tell how you eliminated them:
The only possible species that would cause confusion is Long-billed Dowitcher. Points that eliminate Long-billed Dowitcher include fairly extensive white on underparts on some individuals, paler orange color of underparts, less chunky body structure with flat back, and primary projection beyond tertials. The round black spots on the breast sides is diagnostic for Short-billed Dowitcher on the two individuals it was noted on. Further points against Long-billed include short dash marks on flanks and wide white tips to flank feathers instead of the narrow white fringe typically present on fresh Long-billeds but usually not obvious by mid-May.
What is your experience with this or similar species? I see several hundred dowitchers annually in all plumages. Most are, obviously, Long-billeds but Short-billed Dowitcher is annual in small numbers during both spring and fall migrations. I have studied dowitchers quite closely with the goal of learning to differentiate between Long- and Short-billed for the past five years at least.
No notes were taken during observation and no field guide was available at the time. Field Guides consulted several hours after observation include Sibley Guide to Birds, Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest, The Shorebird Guide (O’Brien, Crossley, and Karlson, 2006), and “New Advances in the Field Identification of Dowitchers” by Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch, an article that is posted on the surfbirds web site.
Were photos obtained? no