At this point in early August, we're already more than a month into the
southward migration of shorebirds. It will continue for at least another
three and a half months; the "fall" shorebird migration is something that
we can enjoy from midsummer to early winter.

The first southbound shorebirds in late June and early July are always
adults, but now we're seeing substantial numbers of juveniles of a few
species.  These young birds in their crisp new plumage are beautiful and
distinctive, and worth looking for.  Juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers are
so much more colorful than adults right now that they're almost startling,
washed with a warm buff tinge that will fade quickly.  Juvenile Least
Sandpipers are incredibly bright, a rich reddish brown, the brightest ones
looking practically orange.  Juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs are spangled with
pale spots on the upperparts, an elegant pattern to go with their elegant
shape.  It's a great time of year to be looking at shorebirds.

Timing of migration is predictable for each species, and for the adult and
juvenile age groups of each species.  For example, all of the Black-bellied
Plovers, Sanderlings, and Stilt Sandpipers that I've seen so far this
season have been adults; juveniles will come later.  Among Least Sandpipers
and Lesser Yellowlegs, during the last few days, juveniles have started to
outnumber adults.  The peak passage of adult Short-billed Dowitchers
already has gone through, while juveniles haven't yet arrived in full
numbers.  The Baird's Sandpiper that we saw at East Harbor State Park on
August 5 was an adult; most Baird's in Ohio are juveniles, and they mostly
occur later in the season.

For birders who are studying shorebird ID, it can be very useful to know
what's expected at each point during the season.  To help with that, I've
written an account of the timing of fall shorebird migration in Ohio; it's
available through the BSBO birding pages, at
http://cranecreekbirding.blogspot.com/2013/07/timing-of-fall-shorebird-migration-in.html


At any rate, migration season is in full swing.  Hope to see some of you
out in the field!

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, OH

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]