I am forwarding this from PaBirds

Mark Vass
----- Original Message -----
From: "wdshaffer" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 5:11 PM
Subject: [PABIRDS] Dowitcher Behavior.


Hi,

Yesterday I went to Conneaut Harbor, Ohio at about 8:30am and departed at
about 5pm. Things were pretty slow. The highlight was a group of 5 Baird's
Sandpipers that were present for an hour or so. When I wasn't photographing,
I amused myself by watching a juv. Short-billed Dowitcher feed. It was the
only dowitcher there and I assume it must have there over the holiday
because it had little fear of people. The bird kept returning to a very
small, shallow puddle to feed. So I decided to sit by the puddle and do some
photography. Much to my surprise the bird came right over and began to pull
short (maybe 2 inch) black worms out of the mud. The worms seemed to
contract and become thick once they were pulled to the surface. The
dowitcher would carry the worm to the edge of the puddle and peck at it.
Most times it seemed unable to swallow the worm unless it stretched it out,
so it used its' bill to hold the worm and foot to stretch the worm out and
align it with its' bill. Once it was aligned, it was readily swallowed. At
least, that's how it appeared to me. I was amazed to see how many worms were
removed from the small puddle and the mud around it. After consuming 10 to
15 worms the dowitcher would walk about 30 feet to the edge of the harbor
and sleep for a half hour or so. Then it would return for another meal. Has
anyone seen this feeding behavior?

Regards,

Walt Shaffer
Pittsburgh, Pa

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