Hi all, Last week I posted a message about birding along I-94 and finding a mystery shorebird. I wish to thank all who responded. I agree with those who suggested a juvenile Silt Sandpiper. It fit the description to a T, but the description did not indicate why I did not consider the Silt Sandpiper: its legs were too short. but, in retrospect, I realized it was walking on pond scum, and thus was probably sinking in some. Again thanks,
Steve Weston on Quigley Lake in Eagan swest...@comcast.net > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Steve Weston" <swest...@comcast.net> > To: "Mou-net" <mou-...@cbs.umn.edu>; "mnbird" <mnb...@lists.mnbird.net> > Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2004 2:17 AM > Subject: [mou] Birding along I-94 to Fargo > > > > Work sent me to Fargo today. A beautiful day for a drive and time to stop > and look at some shorebirds. > > > > Red-tailed hawks along the way out were all lighter than I am use to > seeing in the cities, especially on their heads. One > > pair of hawks sitting on hay bails on the north side of I-94 just east of > mile 118 near Osakis looked like Ferruginous, but > > at 70+mph, all I could say for sure was that they were worth a second > look. > > > > Stopped at Barnesville on the way back and checked out their very birdy > sewerage ponds. Found an unidentified sandpiper > > (described below) that I studied a while and: > > Red-necked Phalaropes (5) > > Eared Grebe > > good variety of ducks > > At least eight varieties of shorebirds plus > > > > one unidentified sandpiper: > > smaller than lesser yellowlegs, estimated size 7 to 9". body shaped like > yellowlegs, but yellow-green legs were shorter. > > Bill was longish (~ 1.5 x length of head), dark,thick at base and slightly > decurved. > > Crown was rusty brown and streaked. Had a line through the eye. wings > (and back?) was rich brown and sculpted. Primaries > > were dark with light edges. > > neck and breast was a rich buffy color and essentially unstreaked, > although there was some faint streaking down the sides. > > Belly and under tail were white. > > Tail and upper tail coverts were white, with a black terminal smudge on > tail, but might not be on all the tail feathers, > > The tail is unique, and easily marks the bird as the target. > > The bird does not match anything I can find. Perhaps someone else will be > able to look at it and recognize it. In > > retrospect I believe it is an aberrant. > > > > Steve Weston on Quigley Lake in Eagan > > swest...@comcast.net > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > mou-net mailing list > > mou-...@cbs.umn.edu > > http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net > > > > >
