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

[Dennis Paulson]

Well, I did it again, misidentifying a common bird as a Little Stint. I was in a hotel in Wakulla Springs, Florida, tired after driving all day (and having driven 4100+ miles since we left Seattle on 4/13), and I should have looked at the photo more carefully. It looks quite like a Little Stint, but the shorter wings and primary projection make it easy to see that it is a Least Sandpiper.

My apologies for so uncritically agreeing, Dan! But I suppose it’s better to get less critical in your old age rather than more critical . . .

Dennis Paulson
Seattle


> On Apr 26, 2022, at 11:02 AM, Robert O'Brien <baro at pdx.edu> wrote:

> 

> 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 <mailto: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 <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 <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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <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 <mailto:danerika at gmail.com>

> 

> ".... the best shod travel with wet feet...Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes ....”—H. D. Thoreau

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> -- 

> ​Steve Hampton​

> Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)

> 

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> ​Steve Hampton​

> Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)

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