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Shorebirds (Charadriiformes) |
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Note: Still a work in progress for some time to come... right now I have
primarily eastern species on here. For most of these shots you can get the
date from the file name of the image by pausing your mouse over the image.
In general, winter or basic plumages are at the top and
summer/breeding/alternate plumages are at the bottom. |
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Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
All winter (basic) plumage except bottom 5. |
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American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) |
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Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
The darker-backed ones in the bottom row are western breeders. |
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Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia)
Bottom two against sand are alternate female, next four up are alternate male.
Lowest left is juv. |
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Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) |
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Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) |
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Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Odd-looking leucistic bird at 3R in Cherokee, OK on 20 Mar 1999. Bottom
three on left side are juveniles. |
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American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) |
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Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) |
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American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) |
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Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) |
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Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) At
4L that's a Stilt Sandpiper on the right. |
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Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) |
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"Eastern" Willet (Tringa semipalmata
semipalmata)
This subspecies breeds on the East and Gulf Coasts, leaves in late summer
and winters primarily in South America. The top 4 are all alternate plumage,
the only plumage usually seen in North America. 3L is a juvenile in flight. |
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"Western" Willet (Tringa semipalmata
inornatus)
This subspecies breeds in the prairies and spends the winter on the Gulf and
East Coasts.
Top shots are basic plumages, bottom 7 shots are of alternate plumage, which
is much less darkly patterned than Eastern in alternate. |
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Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
Adults in basic at top, eight images, followed by three juvenile images. A
selection of alternate plumages at the bottom of the section. The bird at 5L
is catching minnows by thrusting his head underwater, and was successful
about 1 out of every 4 attempts. |
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Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) |
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Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) In the
lower flight shot, also a Willet and a Ruddy Turnstone. |
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Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) |
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Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) I
know, LAME! |
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Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) |
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Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Note that two of the shots of roosting birds near the middle have a couple of Purple
Sandpipers also. |
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Red Knot (Calidris canutus) |
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Sanderling (Calidris alba) The three
pale ones at the bottom are probably in alternate plumage, they may be
females or they may just be pale males.
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Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
The ones in the middle with very blue water are all juveniles. Aging of
shorebirds is critical to identifying them! Below those are one more juv on
the left, then two early fall adults, then all adults in
spring in alternate. |
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Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Again the bright ones in the middle are juveniles. Two weak alternate
plumage shots at the bottom. |
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Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Can be the warmest of the peeps, but when worn as in middle shots, very
drab. |
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White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)
These are mostly spring alternate birds. |
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Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)
The shot at 3R is a scan of a slide from Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador, 18 Oct 1998. |
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Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) |
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Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) |
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Dunlin (Calidris alpina) |
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Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
The wide shot on the upper row is from Tanzania... |
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Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)
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Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites
subruficollis) |
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Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) Note: All of
these photos are from Tanzania in Jan 2005, within the same two week
stretch, but look at the variation in leg color.. |
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Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) |
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Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus
scolopaceus) |
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Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) |
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American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) |
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Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) |
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Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) |
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Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicaria) |
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| BOOKS There are now a host of dedicated
shorebird books for this challenging group. I have listed what I think the
current best ones are, starting with the best: |
| The Shorebird Guide: O'Brien, Crossley,
Karlson. Fabulous text, gorgeous photos. North America only. |
| Shorebirds of North America, Europe and Asia:
Chandler. Less text than above, but very good, also great photos, covers
area in title. |
| Any Sibley guide, especially the all of
North America one. Concise but great. |
| Birds of North America: NGS. An oldie but
goodie, compared to the newer ones. |
| Shorebirds of North America, A Photographic
Guide: Paulson. Not much text, and not as many photos as the others
above, but a good place to start. |
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I have a page of Tanzanian birds that also has
many Old World shorebird species such as this Black-winged Stilt. If you
want to view them, Click here. |
