[Tweeters] Little Stint / Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge

[Robert O'Brien]

PS  My Peep Photo was taken in Fall about 1985, scanned here from a slide.

On Tue, Apr 26, 2022 at 10:41 AM Robert O'Brien <baro at pdx.edu> wrote:


> You learn something every day!  Decades ago photographed a small peep that

> I tried for decades to make into a Little Stint.  Photos taken near Astoria.

> Noone could say anything for sure. Eventually I accepted it as a very

> petite male western.  Hence my 'Most Wanted' for this stint.  But, for old

> times sake I just Googled the comparison and came up with this 'cool' ID

> feature.

>

> https://blog.aba.org/2017/11/open-mic-a-new-field-mark-for-differentiating-stints-and-peeps.html

> Now, in one of the Stint photos you can barely make out the 'Gape Notch'

> (I'd never heard this term before).  A more horizontal photo would have

> been better, but I believe it is visible as it is.

> Then click to the next eBird photo (Western Sandpiper) with the little

> arrow to the right.  No Notch on the Western.

> I'm hardly an expert as I just discovered this.  I would have helped a lot

> with my long ago photo that is here:

> http://www2.rdrop.com/users/green/Stint%3f/LIST02.JPG

> Note No Notch.

> Love to hear from Dennis Paulson on this whole subject.  I'm sure these

> details were not known when he wrote his famous book so long ago.

> Bob OBrien  Portland

>

> On Tue, Apr 26, 2022 at 10:29 AM Robert O'Brien <baro at pdx.edu> wrote:

>

>> Hi Steve-

>> ?The bird to the left of the Stint in the eBird photos is a Least

>> Sandpiper.?  Note the yellow legs.Feet especially

>> Bob OBrien

>>

>> On Tue, Apr 26, 2022 at 7:23 AM Steve Hampton <stevechampton at gmail.com>

>> wrote:

>>

>>> Bob,

>>>

>>> Thanks for engaging me. I'm a bit confused about what you said about leg

>>> color in the photos, which you said appeared yellow in the Least photo and

>>> dark in the stint photos. But there are no photos of Least Sandpiper; there

>>> are just two photos of the presumed stint. To me, the legs have a hint of

>>> olive, which means they are probably yellow, just in shadow or with mud. My

>>> understanding is that Little Stint legs should be jet black, blacker than

>>> Western.

>>>

>>> Regarding plumage, I pulled out Veit and Jonsson (1987) from *American

>>> Birds, *which has excellent illustrations and discussion. The tertials

>>> and scapulars on both species (in alternate plumage) can be nearly

>>> identical. To me, the extensive streaking on the breast sides and the tail

>>> protruding beyond the wings suggest Least Sandpiper, as does the overall

>>> structure.

>>>

>>> Again, the pics are here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S107940245

>>>

>>> I'm hoping others will weigh in.

>>>

>>> thanks,

>>>

>>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 11:37 PM Robert O'Brien <baro at pdx.edu> wrote:

>>>

>>>> One giveaway is the legs.  Least Sandpiper has yellow legs, visible in

>>>> the photo.  The Little Stint clearly has dark legs also visible in the

>>>> excellent photos.

>>>> I'd worry more about Western Sandpiper, which is the next excellent

>>>> photo.  There are obvious differences there but the legs don't help.

>>>> Bob OBrien  Portland

>>>> PS  Can anyone predict what time of day (tidewise?) would be best

>>>> for chasing tomorrow, Tuesday?  I guess it was seen around 9-10AM

>>>> Saturday.  Little Stint is my Most Wanted Stint.................

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 10:42 PM Steve Hampton <stevechampton at gmail.com>

>>>> wrote:

>>>>

>>>>> I've only seen Little Stint a few times, so I'm interested in more

>>>>> discussion of this bird. The bill shape and overall posture seem identical

>>>>> to Least Sandpiper to me. Plumage-wise, is the strong streaking on the

>>>>> sides of the breast possible on Little Stint?  I'm interested in an

>>>>> explanation why this is not a bright adult Least Sandpiper and what the key

>>>>> marks are.

>>>>>

>>>>> thanks,

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 6:58 PM dan&erika <danerika at gmail.com> wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>>> Hi Tweets--

>>>>>>

>>>>>> First let me apologize for the delay in my posting this record.

>>>>>> Yesterday, 25 April 2022, I photographed a bird at the Billy Frank Jr

>>>>>> National Wildlife Refuge. It was on the south side of the very beginning of

>>>>>> the estuary boardwalk. Two birds are in the image, one clearly a Least

>>>>>> Sandpiper. It slowly occurred to me that the other, brighter bird is a

>>>>>> Little Stint. I shared the photo with Dennis Paulson, who concurs with my

>>>>>> identification.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Two photos are included in the following eBird checklist:

>>>>>> https://ebird.org/checklist/S107940245.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Note apparent black legs, white-tipped wing coverts, and rusty

>>>>>> breast, and note the black streaks against a pale chestnut wash on the

>>>>>> sides of the breast and the chestnut color of the tertials.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> A refuge volunteer informed us that the shorebirds had been absent on

>>>>>> Saturday the 24th, but that a large fallout of shorebirds occurred on

>>>>>> Saturday night. I took the photos in eBird only because the birds presented

>>>>>> a pretty composition.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Dan

>>>>>>

>>>>>> --

>>>>>> Dan or Erika Tallman

>>>>>> Olympia, Washington

>>>>>> danerika at gmail.com

>>>>>>

>>>>>> ".... the best shod travel with wet feet...Beware of all enterprises

>>>>>> that require new clothes ....”—H. D. Thoreau

>>>>>> _______________________________________________

>>>>>> Tweeters mailing list

>>>>>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

>>>>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

>>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> --

>>>>> ​Steve Hampton​

>>>>> Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> _______________________________________________

>>>>> Tweeters mailing list

>>>>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

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>>>>>

>>>>

>>>

>>> --

>>> ​Steve Hampton​

>>> Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)

>>>

>>>

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>>

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