8.2 - 8.23 UK
GARGANEY basic at Barnes (Aug 23)
HOBBY 2 at Barnes (Aug 23)
GREENSHANK basic at Barnes (Aug 23)
TAWNY OWL (m. & f.) at Strontian (Aug 04)
81 species seen:
Little Grebe (19, 23)
Great Crested Grebe (19, 22)
Sooty Shearwater (13)
Cormorant (13, 23)
Shag (8)
Mute Swan (4)
White-fronted Goose (19)
Wigeon (22)
Gadwall (23)
Teal (23)
Garganey (23)
Shoveler (23, 23)
Pochard (22)
Tufted Duck (19)
Ruddy Duck (22)
Hen Harrier (17)
Sparrowhawk (23)
Buzzard (7)
Hobby (23)
Pheasant (17)
Moorhen (19)
Oystercatcher (5)
Ringed Plover (4)
Lapwing (23)
Snipe (23)
Greenshank (23)
Common Sandpiper (23)
Turnstone (16)
Black-headed Gull (2)
Common Gull (10)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (19)
Herring Gull (4)
Great Black-backed Gull (5)
Common Tern (23)
Guillemot (13)
Black Guillemot (8)
Stock Dove (19)
Woodpigeon (11)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (23)
Tawny Owl (9)
Swift (1)
Green Woodpecker (20)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (20)
Sand Martin (14)
Swallow (4)
House Martin (4)
Meadow Pipit (12)
Grey Wagtail (21)
White Wagtail (3)
Wren (11)
Dunnock (17)
Robin (4)
Nightingale (19)
Stonechat (15)
Wheatear (15)
Blackbird (5)
Song Thrush (20)
Mistle Thrush (22)
Sedge Warbler (19)
Blackcap (5)
Willow Warbler (5)
Goldcrest (23)
Spotted Flycatcher (6)
Pied Flycatcher (20)
Long-tailed Tit (22)
Coal Tit (5)
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit (5)
Jay (23)
Magpie (18)
Jackdaw (1)
Rook (2)
Carrion Crow (3)
Raven (15)
Chaffinch (11)
Greenfinch (23)
Goldfinch (23)
Siskin (4)
Linnet (13)
Bullfinch (5)
Red Deer sp. (17)
Locations:
1) Edinburgh (Aug 02)
2) Loch Lomond (Aug 03)
3) Loch Long (Aug 03)
4) Inverary (Aug 03)
5) Ardrishaig (Aug 04)
6) Achnabreac Cemetery (Aug 04)
7) Kilmartin (Aug 04)
8) Corran (Aug 04)
9) Strontian (Aug 04)
10) Strontian (Aug 05)
11) Glenborrodale (Aug 05)
12) Glenmore (Aug 05)
13) Ardnomurchan Point (Aug 05)
14) River Lealt (Aug 05)
15) Quiraing (Aug 05)
16) Bualintur (Aug 07)
17) Speyside (Aug 08)
18) Glasgow (Aug 11)
19) Duddingston Loch (Aug 15)
20) London (Aug 19)
21) Minster Lovell (Aug 21)
22) Regent's Park (Aug 22)
23) Barnes (Aug 23)
8.30 August
Hudsonian Godwit
This morning, Kevin McKereghan, Luke
Cole and I visited New Chicago Marsh at the junction of State
and Spreckles streets in Alviso to check out the reported HUDSONIAN
GODWIT. We arrived about 7:15 in the morning and found John Luther,
Les and Cindy Lieurance and others had already located the bird
and easily got on the bird. The following description is from
voice notes made in the field and subsequent discussion. Subsequent
to this observation, John Luther found a second Hudsonian Godwit,
that is not described herein. Digiscopes were hampered by a heavy
marine layer.
Description (original field notes here and here):
An obvious shorebird roughly the same height as a Greater Yellowlegs, but quite a
bit chunkier and with a long bill very similar to a Marbled Godwit. The bill had a noticeable upturn throughout most of the distal portion of the bill. The bill was noticeably pale along distal third or more of the lower mandible, visible when the bird turned his head upside down while preening. The legs were dark.
Plumage wise, the bird was in general a cool brown, with details as follows. The face and throat were noticeably paler, showing significant contrast to the nape and sides of the neck. There was a dark eyeline which highlighted the pale supercilium, whose the paleness of which appeared to vary significantly with the orientation of the bird's head. The auriculars and cheek were similarly pale, giving an impression vaguely reminisicent of a Barnacle Goose.
The upper breast was uniformly cool brown, coming to a distinct vee at the center of the breast. Below this, the lower breast and belly were one shade cooler in brown, smoothly transitioning to a clean lower belly, vent and undertail coverts. The outer portions of the undertail coverts were finely tipped jet black. When the bird was preening the white undertail coverts could be seen continuing all the way across the uppertail coverts and rump, vaguely reminscent of the plumage of a Wilson's Storm-Petrel.
The nape and back were the same cool brown as the upper breast, giving a hooded
impression to the bird in certain postures. The primaries were black, with inner primaries have very fine dusky or white tips to them. The outer tertials were cool brown with fine buff edges. Inner primaries showed prominent buff notches well up from the tips and fine buff edges. The patterning of the scapulars was quite distinct. The feathers were cool brown with dark veins leading into anchor-shaped dark terminal bars. (Contrary to my voice notes, there were no buff terminal edges on the scapulars after closer inspection). Above the dark terminal bars were two deep buff notches on each side of the feather.
The wing coverts on the folded wing were cool brown with dark veins and dusky tips. The folded wing showed a noticeable dark bar near the alula, running along the edge of the folded wing. The underwing, which was only briefly visible, showed black axillaries, significantly contrasting with paler inner remiges. The tail showed a prominent white band basally as mentioned above, had a wide dark subterminal band and a very fine dusky tip.
Discussion:
Very few shorebirds found in North America have upturned bills. American Avocet can be eliminated by a variety of characteristics. Terek Sandpiper would be much smaller, has yellow legs and differs in a number of plumage characteristics. Willet can can show an upturned bill but is uniformly gray, showing no brown, grayish bill and differs in a wide variety of plumage details. The only remaining shorebirds are the godwits.
Marbled Godwit can be eliminated by warm cinnamon underwings and general warm buff coloration, both for juveniles and adults. Bar-tailed Godwit shows a finely barred tail both in juvenile and adult plumages. Black-tailed Godwit also shows a black tail with white uppertail coverts, but has a clean white underwing in both juvenile and adult plumage. By a process of elimination, we are left with HUDSONIAN GODWIT.
It's worth additional discussion both to age the bird and to discuss additional plumage details since plumage details of this species other than for adult birds are not adequately covered in standard field guides. Adult alternate Hudsonian Godwit is easily eliminated based on coloration, both for male and female. Similarly, basic-plumaged adult can be eliminated as it is uniformly-colored gray. So we're left with juvenile-plumage. The best reference for juvenile-plumage Hudsonian Godwit that I am aware of is Rosair and Cottridge, Photographic Guide to the Shorebirds of the World, which in plate 101(C) depicts a juvenile Hudsonian Godwith in a plumage very similar to the this bird. Notice the distinctive patterning of the scapulars, the pale face, contrasting coverts and pale face with distinctive eyeline. One difference between this plate and the Alviso bird is that the Alviso bird did not have pale edges to the scapulars, perhaps due to wear.
8.31 Cordell Bank
Highlights included a LEACH'S STORM-PETREL and a highly inquisitive
Humpback Whale that repeatedly displayed within 50 feet of the
boat. Description of the Storm-Petrel:
An obvious Oceandroma, superficially similar to the nearby Ashy Storm-Petrels, but with the following essential differences. Larger, floppier winged, with a distinctly white rump and a long, very strongly notched tail.
Other species of interest:
American Avocet, 18 miles or so offshore(!), all three jaegers,
with a large number of them being Long-tailed, South Polar Skua,
Arctic Tern and great looks both at Rhinoceros and Cassin's Auklets.
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