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If you see shorebirds on a coastal beach in North America they are most likely Sanderlings (Calidris alba).  If they are running back and forth as the waves ebb and flow they are almost assuredly Sanderlings.  They are the “clockwork toy” birds according to Sibley, “The Bird That Plays Tag with the Waves” according to [...]

Remember our Evil Avian ID Quiz from last Wednesday? Here is the promised follow-up post and answer.
To review … here were the clues:

Locally common in spring in the Great Plains.
No subspecies.
Worldwide population less than 200,000.
All birds show a distinct whitish eyebrow that, in combination with the darker crown, give them a capped appearance.
Posture is [...]

Yesterday’s Southern Masked Weaver gallery depicted a common bird that is not very likely to turn up in Europe, North America, or Asia anytime soon so how about a bird that is widespread across a large portion of the planet, but is still something of a rarity in Canada and the US - the startlingly [...]

After my visit to Jones Beach this past Saturday I decided to work my way away back to Queens by hopping from park to park.  Cow Meadow Park, a Nassau County park, is just north and west of Jones Beach, and is well-known as a good spot to see some shorebirds.  This time of year, [...]

When I found out Daisy’s younger sister Steph was staying overnight at our house on Saturday after taking their father to the airport I was happy.  Not just to see Steph, though she is fun to hang out with, but because I figured that she tends to sleep late, which meant that I might have [...]

I’ve been very lucky (especially for a Brit birder) to have had the opportunity to look closely at a good number of Nearctic shorebirds in the last few years, and I thought it may be useful to look at one species that I’ve seen particularly well - the world’s smallest shorebird, the Least Sandpiper Calidris [...]

 
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
Mai Po, Hong Kong, April 2008

The Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis breeds in north-eastern Siberia and northern and western Alaska. The vast majority then follow the the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to spend the southern summer months in non-breeding areas in South-East Asia and Australasia south of about 25° S. As many US birders [...]

After having a blast touring the Swarovski headquarters and trying my hand at digiscoping last Thursday, we bird bloggers visiting New England for the Swarovski bird blogging summit headed to the beach on Friday.  No, we weren’t going to improve our suntans and our swimming strokes: we were going for the birds!  And we had high [...]

It was while watching flocks of shorebirds on Friday on Cape Cod (an adventure I will soon describe) that I first heard of a Red-necked Stint being found at Jamaica Bay.  I got back-to-back calls that I let go to voicemail from Jory and Will, my upstate birding buddies, and when I checked my voicemail [...]

Last year I hardly went to New York at all (surprising, really, given that the airline I work for has seven daily flights), but this year I’ve been enough to apply for residency. No complaints from me, of course: I really like birding the State (and up until a few weeks ago when Mike moved [...]

Yesterday in New York was hot.  Way too hot.  Fortunately for Daisy and me our friends Kerry and Becky were heading to the beach and offered a ride.  And it wasn’t just any beach either, but the birding Mecca of Nassau County, Jones Beach.  The south wind was strong, the waves were huge, and we [...]

You’ve undoubtedly heard of Minnie the Moocher and maybe even Willie the Wimp. Well, now we can turn eyes brimming with admiration towards a new hero, a supreme shorebird who just flew 3,200 miles (5,000 kilometers) over a span of no more than 146 hours. Presenting Winnie the Whimbrel!

The reason we know about this epic [...]

I started a recent post (Magic Hedge, Chicago) with the following paragraph: “There are few times of the year more exciting in the North American birding calendar than the middle weeks of May. Why should this be? The spring sales in birding stores perhaps? The best time to get a bargain on new binoculars? Maybe [...]

Migration - that extraordinary time of the year when the world’s animals are on the move, when we’re reminded that international borders mean nothing to the rest of the planet’s lifeforms, that while we complain about cramped seats on a jumbo jet and how tired we feel after a ten-hour flight there are bundles of [...]

Fantastic birding in Malaysia and Singapore is only part of the story when I’m on a trip that also involves visiting Sydney, Australia of course - even if said “visiting” amounts to little more than having the day I arrive after an eight hour flight available, plus the following morning before flying back to Singapore [...]

Masked Lapwing, Sydney, Australia
Various dates

The Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles (once more-widely known as the Masked Plover) is common throughout northern, central and eastern Australia. It inhabits marshes, mudflats, beaches and grasslands and is often seen in urban areas and parks. Where this species is used to human presence, it may allow a close approach (the [...]

When I was in San Jose last week my good buddy Jack suggested going to Redwood Shores (Redwood City), a site where large numbers of shorebirds gather close to the road at a high-tide roost before then flying in groups over observers’ heads as the adjacent tidal-flats are uncovered by receding water. Amongst large numbers [...]

Crowned Lapwings Vanellus coronatus
South Africa
 
Crowned Lapwings (or Crowned Plovers as they are also widely known) are widespread on savannas in Africa from Ethiopia to Angola - particularly favouring dry, short, or over-grazed grassland - and are common throughout South Africa where they are regularly found in suburban settings. They feed mainly by opportunistically foraging [...]

A couple of days after Will and I were at Noblewood and saw a Dunlin, local nature photographer Jeff Nadler went there and reported seeing a Sanderling. Apparently, someone thought it was pretty late for Sanderling or something, because Jeff posted this to a local listserv.
For those pointing out that it’s running a bit late [...]

On Sunday, October 28, I birded Jones Beach and Point Lookout in Nassau County, hoping to find migrating passerines blown to the barrier beaches by the strong northwest winds. I found some but not many. Instead of the expected passerines the bird that stole the show was a cooperative juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris [...]