I, too, was curious as to what the bird in question looked like, so I went through e-bird to find the photos. I have pasted links to three checklists that show photos below.
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57966695 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57973583 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57984581 Judging by the fact that most (all?) of the checklists still list the bird in question as a "Baird's Sandpiper," I gather many people are reluctant to accept that the bird in question is indeed a Sanderling. Hugh On Tue, Jul 9, 2019 at 3:25 AM Andrew Baksh <birdingd...@gmail.com> wrote: > Inspired and intrigued by Angus’ comments earlier in the week and Shai’s > well crafted e-mail, I went in search for any checklists with images and or > descriptions of the bird that caused some confusion as to its > identification. > > One checklist in particular had decent enough images that no doubt to me > showed a Sanderling. Shorebirds can be tricky there is always going to be > that one bird that might be quite difficult to identify. > > Cheers, > > -------- > "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the > ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own > abhorrence." ~ Frederick Douglass > > 風 Swift as the wind > 林 Quiet as the forest > 火 Conquer like the fire > 山 Steady as the mountain > Sun Tzu <http://refspace.com/quotes/Sun_Tzu> *The Art of War* > <http://refspace.com/quotes/The_Art_of_War> > > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > > (") _ (") > > Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! > > > Andrew Baksh > www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > > On Jul 8, 2019, at 10:03 PM, Shaibal Mitra <shaibal.mi...@csi.cuny.edu> > wrote: > > It seems that in this age of hyper-connectivity, false information travels > more easily than true. Whereas the good-news story of a Baird's Sandpiper > at Nickerson Beach, Nassau County, Long Island, propagated quickly and > decisively, the uncomfortable awareness that the bird in question was > actually a Sanderling is spreading too slowly. > > Conflicting descriptions aside, photos in the various checklists show an > adult Calidris sandpiper with a robust bill, boldly patterned back feathers > with extensive rufous color in the interior of each feather, warm color on > the face and bib, and boldly pale-edged coverts and tertials. All of these > are characteristic of Sanderlings, which furthermore also have long wings > that extend beyond the tertials when folded. > > Note that this is early July and that juveniles of Arctic-breeding > shorebirds will not reach us for several weeks. Thus, a Baird's Sandpiper > at this date would be an adult (very rare), not a scaly-backed juvenile. > > Lone shorebirds are difficult to identify, and the grassy habitat chosen > by this individual was admittedly atypical for a Sanderling, so an error is > understandable. But it has been two days, so I would have thought that the > gears of the social media mill would have mulled this grist by now. > > Distinguishing rare birds requires thorough familiarity with the common > species. An identification article in the most recent Birding magazine > emphasizes this point but unfortunately features a photo that confuses two > of the most common species (yes, one is Sanderling)! I've pointed this out > to about a dozen active birders, none of whom was aware of the gaffe. Is it > only good news that goes viral nowadays? > > Shai Mitra > Bay Shore > > > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > > -- > *NYSbirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > ABA <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird* > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* > -- > -- Hugh McGuinness Washington, D.C. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
