Sep 05 2008
Shorebird shapes
Sometimes shorebirds seem so hard to identify; then there are times they seem dead easy. Mainly, we all hope to have more of the latter and less of the former as we go on in our birding careers. Last night, I enjoyed looking at the shapes of some of the shorebirds along Prime Hook Beach Road. The low angle sun almost forced you to pay more attention to silhouette than to plumage.
When you get Greater & Lesser yellowlegs together like this, it’s hard to imagine they can ever be tricky to judge separately.
Similarly, look how chunky and round-headed this Stilt Sanpiper (right) looks compared to the Lesser Yellowlegs. Also note the differing leg proportions: you can’t even see the tarsal joint (“knee”) on the Stilt, but it’s well above the water on the Lesser Yellowlegs.
Great shots. Good light.