On this cool rainy day I saw 8 Spotted Sandpipers at Pelican Point at Cherry Creek SP. Spotted Sandpipers exhibit sex role reversal, just as phalaropes do, with females being dominant and displaying to find willing males, which tend the nest and the chicks. "Spotty" plumages are the same in both sexes, so this phenomenon was not discovered until relatively recently, I read. It is easier to observe role reversal and polyandry in phalaropes, as the females sport the brighter plumage. I saw a presumed female Spotted Sandpiper stretch tall and strut across a beach toward presumed males with her tail spread. Most cool. There is also an aerial courtship display, but I did not see that.
Birds were plentiful at Cherry Creek SP, with diverse passerines, lots of Yellow-rumps and Chipping Sparrows, but nothing rare. Joe Roller, Denver -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUD%2BOtmpu6nDKuWOVZUeDDaNJUZc7%3DE09OH3wOwmA-MdJg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
