I hate to do this - and I saw the bird in question - but it looks like a Dunlin to me. While I wait to see other people's photographs showing a white rump, I've gone over my pictures. All other characteristics are perfectly in line with what a juvenile Dunlin might exhibit in late September. Most importantly, the breast is streaked with black. I don't know of any plumage of Curlew Sandpiper that would have that. The upperparts are rather typical of a juvenile's molt. Gray feathers have replaced most of the juvenile feathers on the back. The coverts and tertials are still juvenile, with some of the latter still showing some rufous edging. There is one rufous feather in the scapulars; often there will be a couple more. The bill, while on the longer extreme of Dunlin bill length, doesn't appear to be out of range. I could find a few others in my photo collection of the same length and curvature. The bird's overall structure, including thick neck and large head, also favor Dunlin.
Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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/[email protected]/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/ --
