Bar-tailed beauty

  

Larry reported a Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) at Limantour Beach yesterday and I couldn't help going down to look for it this morning (19 October 2020).  I encountered it in a flock of Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa).  They were all busy feeding on Mole Crabs (Emerita analoga).

 

Since it's been a while since I've seen a Bar-tailed Godwit, here's a selection of photos.

 

 

 

The Bar-tailed Godwit is a little smaller than a Marbled Godwit.  Note that it's grayer above and whiter below compared to the rusty tones of the Marbled Godwits.  And note the difference in the facial markings — the Bar-tailed has a much more pronounced pale supercilium (eyebrow) and a dark eye stripe that extends behind the eye.

Here are a few photos with the Bar-tailed Godwit next to Marbled Godwits for comparison:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the field I noticed some grayer feathers coming in on the upper back (incoming winter plumage):

 

 

 

 

And some of the other feathers are quite worn.  If you look closely, you can see that the paler spots on some of the feathers have almost completely worn away, giving some of the feathers a scalloped or jagged appearance:

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful morning at Point Reyes, and I'm thankful for some time with this interesting bird: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  Bar-tailed Godwits are known for their extreme long-distance migrations — e.g., non-stop flights from northern Alaska to Australia/New Zealand, an ~11,000 kilometer (6,835 mile) flight!  They're rare in Northern California.