A quick shot, but it's always useful when you can compare several species in one photo.
From left to right: Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus).
Photographed in Bodega Bay on 13 May 2023.
3 comments:
Thank you!
I'm pretty good at identifying land birds, by their appearance plus their location, songs, and calls, but shorebirds STILL (and probably always will) baffle me. At my age, I've decided to just be glad that I can see and hear them, without always having to know what they are, but it's great to have photos like this that help with comparisons for identification.
Hi, Alice!
This goes a bit far back, but I can still remember a day when I was first learning how to identify birds when I was with a birding group and the leader was identifying lots of different sandpipers in front of us and I just couldn't believe it -- I even remember turning to look at the leader to make sure we were looking at the same birds, because they all looked the same to me! Another one of those cases where it takes lot of looking before the characteristics start to stand out, and that can be especially true with shorebirds.
:) Jackie
When I have been at the beach I rarely see even two shorebirds close enough together to get a picture of them, so your shot here of three is impressive! It helps so much to have that comparison. Thank you for sharing this event :-)
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