Well my hearing is really bad, but I have to say I could never see why
Short-billed is likened to Lesser Yellowlegs! It is a harsh, gritty sort
of sound which better recalls Turnstone. A Lesser Yellowlegs is quite
like Greenshank by comparison.
Maybe it really is my hearing, but I always thought the "kip" thing for
LBD was a good desription by contrast. They sound quite like Sanderling
or Red-necked Phalarope. It gets less easy when they are in a group.
Mostly single birds sound distinctive, though.
On 11/11/2014 9:58 PM, cgregory123 . wrote:
Here is an interesting article on the difficulty of distinguishing between
the Long and Short-billed Dowitcher species and a guide on to how to go
about it in the field.
http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/dowitchers.html
I've picked out a couple of points the authors make.
"To make matters worse, many birders, including seasoned birders, rely on
habitat preference as a "field mark". Not only is this an useless field
mark during migration when both species occur side-by-side and in habitats
that they are not "expected" to be in, but it also masks any information
regarding local movements of dowitchers between habitats."
"One difference, as pointed out by Putnam (2005), is that Long-billeds molt
their primaries during transit whereas Short-billeds wait until they arrive
at their wintering grounds to molt their primaries."
"The best field mark for distinguishing the two dowitcher species is voice.
Short-billed gives a "call *tututu*, a staccato series of low, musical
notes a bit faster than but similar to those of a Lesser Yellowlegs"
(Paulson, 1993). Long-billed typically gives a higher pitched *keek* or
*peep* call often repeated several to numerous times in rapid succession.
The difference in voice is regarded as a nearly fail-proof field mark, and
over the course of our studies."
Cheers
Chris Gregory
On 11 November 2014 09:03, James Mustafa <>
wrote:
Hi all,
Here is a link to a couple of photos that took yesterday....
https://www.facebook.com/jamesmustafamusic/media_set?set=a.10204711600768485.1073741839.1190533907&type=1&pnref=story
On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 3:49 AM, Joseph Morlan <> wrote:
Both species can give a single call note, although it's more typical of
Long-billed.
Short-billed has a lower-pitched more mellow call, usually three rapid
notes "toodle-doo" especially in flight. However they may also give a
single mellow "tu" or "tup" note depending on context, especially while
feeding.
Long-billed has a higher, squeakier call, "keeek" recalling Sanderling.
It
may also call in series as "keeek keeek keeek" but with a much longer
space
between the individual notes cf. Short-billed. Long-billed is much more
vocal, frequently keeping up a lot of chatter while foraging.
Short-billed
is often silent except when disturbed or when flying with a flock.
In California, Long-billed prefers fresh water, including inland lakes
and
flooded fields, but will also use estuaries. Short-billed prefers tidal
mudflats. However, there are three different subspecies of Short-billed
Dowitcher one of which migrates regularly inland in North America.
Short-billed is a much longer distance migrant, regularly reaching
southern
South America. Long-billed is extremely rare anywhere south of the
equator. I am aware of only one specimen from Argentina.
I have not yet seen an unambiguous photo of the bird. I have seen this
from the a camera back posted on eremaea...
http://www.eremaea.com/sightingphotos/22/220773.jpg
Interesting bird. Where are the Facebook photos?
On Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:41:27 +1100, "Mike Carter" <
>
wrote:
Because James Mustafa tells me that the bird issued a single note call
it
is
a Long-billed Dowitcher. It is still there in a big flock of waders but
now
on the northern end of the lake not the SW corner where found. That area
is
already dry. 4WD vehicles are not required but it seems as though the
lake
could be drying fast.
Cheers,
Mike Carter, 03 9787 7136
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza, VIC 3930, Australia
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All the best,
James Mustafa
0400 951 517
www.jamesmustafajazzorchestra.com
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