These are more of the birds that were in Henderson with the Snipe.
There was a large flock of Killdeer in the same flooded field. I think there are about 7 in this photo, plus a few well hidden Snipe, and several Sandpipers in the front.
I am not good at naming Sandpipers....I don't see them too often. I would guess that they are Yellowlegs....both the Greater and Lesser. Or they might be Solitary Sandpipers....I really don't know!
I would love to know what they are feeding on in this field. The bills of all the birds were really jabbing up and down constantly and they seemed content.
Hmmmm.....that doesn't look very tasty. One of my best side shots if someone wants to make a stab at naming them for sure.
This was one of the larger ones. You can see the yellow legs and feet.
I think this is one of the smaller ones.
Going deep...tail up :-)
One of the Killdeer. I love their stripes and funny white patch over the eyes.
"Just me and my reflection"
Three of the sandpipers at work.
Wading deep
Four plus Killdeer. Some of these shots have Snipe hidden in them, too.
Snipe in the middle
The smaller ones are about the same size as the Killdeer.
A few more photos to come of the geese that are starting to arrive.
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7 comments:
Hi Mary, Great pictures of the sandpipers and killdeer... I always love seeing both --but those little sandpipers are awesome.
Hugs,
Betsy
Hi Mary,
You always get good pictures of your birds! I think Killdeer are so neat! I don't see them often and of course, I don't see Sandpipers around here;-)
I enjoyed this post.
Sandpipers are so hard to ID,at least for me.I can see how some of the birds were all hidden in these pictures,they just blend right in.
Wow, you really have a great collection here Mary. I only saw 1 Sandpiper here this summer. They were as scarce as Butterflies.
B.
I love the photo of the kildeer with his reflection! They are one of my favourite birds! We used to have snipe breeding in the marsh just to the west of us, but I have not heard them in several years. New road, and I think the place has become too busy for them...
Mary, you have so many sandpipers here! OMW! I've been going nuts trying to ID them from your photos. I know you have greater yellowlegs, killdeer, and snipe, but you also have some others and I am just learning my sandpipers. They are so challenging, especially in the fall!
The 2 in the last photo behind the killdeer are definitely something different with their black legs but I could not figure it out! There are so many options: Western and Baird's sandpipers both have black legs like these and are possible during migration in your area. They might also be dunlin. It seems most of the sandpipers have more white on the face but the dunlin have color coming down onto the breast, but it is hard to tell from the angle of the birds in this photo. the killdeer is a good size comparison. it is about 10" while dunlin are about 8". The other sandpipers I mentioned are much smaller.
Photo #11 shows a bird with a very droopy bill. This also suggests a dunlin.
I hope this points you in the right direction. Leg color and behavior are huge indicators of species. Head shape, bill shape and length are all things to look at and consider. Having a photo helps, but in the end, wading birds are just difficult, even for experienced birders. Good luck!
Thanks everyone...I love sandpipers but they are hard to figure out for me.
Kathie: I thought maybe the one that looks like black legs was just the angle or shadows making them look black. It was so hard to focus on this bunch of birds!
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