Posted by Mark Jenkins on September 9, 2012 at 10:50 AM
I was in Vancouver, BC, Canada last week and took a photo of these birds at a wildlife refuge and couldn't ID them. Thanks for any help.
Posted by Mia McPherson on September 9, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Mark, they are Dowitchers but I am not sure if they are short or long-billed
Posted by Nick Baldwin on September 9, 2012 at 3:25 PM
I don't blame Mia, these are very hard to distinguish particularly when you have 3 subspecies: west coast/prarie/east coast. then of course male/female and juvenile to adult.
I recommend reading the two sections in Pete Dunne's "Essential Field Guide Companion" as he give as good a comparison as possible.
Then try one of the great photo books, like Karlson, et al:"The Shorebird Guide."
Or just shoot as many groupings as you can and hope to get both species together so that you can begin to differentiate.
Nice shots and good luck.
They are passing through and some lingering here in the Panhandle, probably through November.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on September 10, 2012 at 12:07 AM
My guess would be long-billed. As a very rough rule of thmb, if the bill is 2.5 times the head length or more, you've got a long-billed. These look pretty long.
Discussion
3 repliesI recommend reading the two sections in Pete Dunne's "Essential Field Guide Companion" as he give as good a comparison as possible.
Then try one of the great photo books, like Karlson, et al:"The Shorebird Guide."
Or just shoot as many groupings as you can and hope to get both species together so that you can begin to differentiate.
Nice shots and good luck.
They are passing through and some lingering here in the Panhandle, probably through November.