Sorry for the late posting.  I was too tired last night.  The
Long-billed Dowitcher (LBDO) reported by the Ed and Bev Neubauer on
Friday, 09/26/08, was still present on Saturday in the most northwestern
portion of the much reduced lake at Edgewood MP.  The best vantage point
is to follow the sign to the boat ramp near the end of the black topped
entry road.  I identified this bird by call.  It sounds like a "peep" to
my ear but has been described as "keek."  I did not find the bird
immediately in the large area of low water and grass at this location.
However, it appeared soon enough flying around and calling when the
Killdeer spooked and flew around screaming.  By waiting patiently
between about 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm, I was able to get diagnostic views
and digiscoped photos, when it finally came close enough and stopped
feeding for a short while.  The cloudy weather and poor light were a
complication for viewing and photos.  Shorebirds present were

 

Semipalmated Plover 1

Killdeer 15- 20 (estimate not exact count)

Lesser Yellowlegs 3

Solitary Sandpiper 1 (called in flight)

Least Sandpiper 2 

Pectoral Sandpiper 6

Stilt Sandpiper 1

Long-billed Dowitcher 1

 

This bird is almost a "dead-ringer" for the photo of juvenile LBDO on
page 320, 83.8, in Paulson's Shorebirds of North America, The
Photographic Guide.  My photos show the scapulars with dark interiors
and buffy fringes, the tertials with gray interiors and buffy edges as
well as the buffy wash on the breast, and the reddish brown top of head,
all of which describe a juvenile/immature LBDO.  I also got photographs
which show the shape of the LBDO bill at the base where it connects with
the bill.  This shape is different than the shape of a Short-billed
Dowitcher.  Only a few if any field guides discuss the shape difference
at the base of the bills for Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitcher.
This has been discussed on the internet on ID Frontiers.  Excellent
photos are on the internet.  I have included one posting about this on
ID Frontiers, which includes the link to the photos. See also the
reference to the article on surfbirds.com.  I will post further
information about my identification and my photos and where posted when
I have enough time to down-load some of my best photographs, hopefully
this evening.  Time's a wasting so I need to go birding again today!

Jay

 

Jay G. Lehman

Cincinnati, OH

[log in to unmask]

 

Subject: The Dowitcher Discussion Continues
From: Ted Lee Eubanks <eubanks AT FERMATAINC.COM>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:58:45 -0600

---> Texbird help file http://www.texbirds.org <---

 

This morning I posted three photos of dowitcher profiles that help

illustrate a field mark that I find very helpful. As I noted previously,
I

find bill shape to be among the most helpful field marks in identifying

winter dowitchers, particularly the angle of the bill at its base. In

Long-billed, the bill gently slopes toward the tip, while in
Short-billed

the bill is acutely angled and appears "pinched." The new photos are

available in the same folder -

http://www.fermatainc.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=60

 

For an interesting discussion I suggest the following paper to go along
with

Cin-Ty's -

http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/Dowitcher_bill_sur
fbir

ds.pdf

 

As the paper notes, "Short-billed Dowitcher has a high bill base which

lowers rapidly, and forms a clear curve in the upper profile.
Long-billed

Dowitcher has a straight profile, and the base is about as high as the
bill

elsewhere."

 

Ted Eubanks

Galveston, Texas

      


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