Nikon's February Facebook Quiz!
With the invention of the new Nikon EDG VR Fieldscope, digiscoping has been the latest craze on the Nikon side. The VR has the ability to allow steady shooting at lower shutter speeds which creates a much more versatile situation for digiscoping. The Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival is home to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge which is literally a photographer's dream. The birds are close and easily reached with basic photography equipment. The Pumphouse Loop is a known dirt road that leads to large mudflats where many species of shorebirds gather to feed. Some birds are close and others are far away, but a strong scope has the ability to reach them. As always, the heat distortion created by water vapor in the air can distort images that otherwise would be sharp, but that will happen regardless of the equipment you are using.
The two species in our quiz photo are expected species in central Florida in the winter, but these late morning photos were certainly effected by heat distortion. However, the necessary field marks are viewable to allow for proper identification. These two birds are relatively similar in size but very obviously different in plumage. Given the farthest bird's plumage it looks to be most likely a peep sp. In that size range there are only two birds that would show up with bright orange legs in the winter. Those are Semipalmated and Piping Plovers. What else can you see about the bird that is noticeable?
The darker back of the close bird is a huge key and that coupled with the orange legs narrows it down to Semipalmated Plover. A Piping Plover would show a light gray back with less contrast between the ventral and dorsal sides of the bird.
The far bird however is a bit different and can be close in plumage to numerous other species. Let's assume this is a peep, because well, it is! A Least Sandpiper would show yellow legs but even mud can make their legs look black. Overall, we can eliminate Least by the light body color of this bird and lack of heavy streaking on the upper breast. White-rumped and Baird's would show a more elongated body with longer wing extension past the tail. Also, White-rumped has a light color to the base of the bill. The bill looks to taper towards the tip which doesn't stand well for Semipalmated Sandpiper even though Semipalms are rare in FL in winter. The Semipalmated Sandpiper has a short, thick, black bill that is of even width throughout the length for the most part. This looks like to be a Western Sandpiper with the streaking coming down the sides of the neck, white eyebrow and light coloration.
A closer look at this bird further shows a slight droop at the end of the bill as well so Western Sandpiper is the correct ID. Let's look at a Dunlin up close below.
There is really no comparison when a Western Sandpiper is standing next to the Dunlin as the Dunlin is far larger. However, when not given a side by side comparison they are superficially similar. Notice how brown the Dunlin looks as opposed to the gray of the Western Sandpiper? How about the difference in the shape and length of the eyebrow? These are the key features one should focus on for these birds in winter plumage. They will always be a bit confusing, but with a "bear-down," mentality to focusing on the smaller ID features they can positively be separated.
Nikon Birding would like to thank everyone who participated in this quiz and we congratulate all who learned a little something. Good Birding!
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