The Greater Yellowlegs reported from the Brighton Construction Wetland is still present as of 1230 p.m.. It is feeding in the only open water which is at the north-east corner of the north-east cell and is visible from County Rd. 64. It was mostly wading belly-deep near some small mud clumps but also stood on the ice at waters’ edge a few times.
This is an incredibly early record and I checked the bird against all other options such as Greenshank, Redshank, etc. While I do think it is a Greater, it has some odd features. The very base of the upper mandible shows what looks like a small orange saddle over the top of the bill and this colour is a little more extensive at the base of the lower mandible. The bill does not look quite as robust as I usually think of Greater’s having, and at times it almost appears like the bill is ever so slightly down curved, along the lines of a Spotted Redshank. The legs appear to my colour-blind eye as more yellow-orange (but still dominantly yellow) rather than just bright yellow. Having said that, there is no white wedge up the back as in European tringas, and I can’t see what else it might be. I would encourage anyone to go see this bird and see what you think. Directions: The Constructed Wetland is located in the south-east part of Brighton along Cty Rd. 64. Permits are required to enter the wetland and can be obtained from the Municipal Office in the Industrial Park (see Joan Kelbricks previous post for details) but this bird can be seen right from the road shoulder so entry is not necessary . Cheers, Doug Doug McRae P.O. Box 3010 Brighton, Ontario K0K 1H0 613-475-5014 H 613-243-4161 C _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
