Last Tuesday a Wood Sandpiper was reported at Fern Ridge Reservoir by John Sullivan. He had pictures. It was pretty definitive….
As many of you know, I rarely chase stuff. There are lots of reasons why I’ve chosen not to go winging off to list rare things, most of them centering around my general distaste for driving long distances. But I have to say, I came close on this one. It’s a 4-hour drive one way, but I have family near Eugene and could have made a family trip out of it (and may yet, if it hangs around).
I’ve actually seen Wood Sandpiper before, in East Africa where it is a regular visitor in appropriate habitat. In Oregon, however, this is probably a once in a life-time shot and it would be my 400th species. So, the call of the chase has been far more tempting than usual.
I’ve more or less resigned myself to a virtual twitch on this bird though, but felt compelled to celebrate the way in which this bird was reported: there was a written description.
It’s very likely, based on later reflection by other observers, that the bird had been seen as much as a week earlier. But Wood Sandpiper is not the first species that pops into one’s mind – funny looking common species is (and should be) the default unless the views are pretty clean. The credit for ID’ing this “mega-tick” squarely belongs to John, though.
John got excellent photos and could have let them stand alone. Instead he included a very good written description:
John Sullivan’s original written description: “I am very nervous about this posting in case I'm wrong, but I am reasonably sure there is a juvenile WOOD SANDPIPER in the Fisher Unit south of Royal Avenue. It is in the south end of the pond east of the observation platform. Walking south from the platform, about 2/3rds of the way down, the dike makes a slight bend to the east, there are some bushes on the west side of the dike and a grassy island on the east side where the water mostly ends. The bird was on the east side of the dike just north of the grassy island. At this point there are only small puddles between the dense vegetation. The bird was there tonight from 6:00 PM until dark. Best light at this location is in the afternoon.“The bird looks a lot like a Solitary Sandpiper with a much thinner, less conspicuous eye-ring and a strong supercilium, which is especially prominent behind the eye. It is heavily spotted on the back. The primaries do not extend beyond the tip of the tail as in yellowlegs. Primaries are even with the tip of the tail. It is slightly smaller when directly compared to Lesser Yellowlegs. The legs are fairly bright yellow but not quite as bright as Yellowlegs. The bill appeared to be slightly heavier than the yellowlegs. I got a very brief glimpse of the bird’s tail on a short flight. I'm pretty sure it had a solid white rump. I saw a lot of white and I don't think that the central tail feathers were dark. I stayed until dark hoping to get a better look at the tail but it didn't fly again. Not getting a better look at the tail is what's making me nervous about posting this sighting, but I figure I'd better get this out there in case this really is what I think it is.
“Lack of a prominent eye-ring was what first got my attention, but as I watched, its behavior just didn't seem very solitary-like. It was darting around quite a bit, making long dashes after insects and bobbing its tail like a spotted sandpiper. National Geographic says solitary sandpiper often bobs it's tail, but Dennis Paulson's Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest and O'Brian, Crossley and Karlson's Shorebird Guide says that solitary sandpipers bob the front part of their body up and down, distinct from spotted sandpipers habit of “moving the rear part of it's body up and down. I digi-scoped several shots and got a 30 second video showing the distinct tail bobbing.
“I'm positive this is not a yellowlegs by smaller size, which is evident in the pictures, short primaries and behavior. I think the lack of a prominent eye-ring, bold supercilium and possibly the tail bobbing should rule out solitary sandpiper. I can't find any solitary photos on line that show a supercilium like this bird has. I'm just not sure solitary [sandpiper] can be ruled out without a definitive tail description. The less likely Green Sandpiper which more closely resembles solitary, should be less heavily spotted with olive legs.”
This description is good enough to get any self-respecting local birder out to follow up, even without photos. Of course, I’m old school. Back in the day, a good written description is often all we had to go on.
Lots of people have made the pilgrimage to Fern Ridge to see this bird. Most report seeing the bird, not many have added there own observations. One notable exception is Nathaniel Peters who took the time to add to the written details and really nail down the rump and tail description, something that John admits to having not seen definitively and something which none of the photos so far posted have shown.
From Nathaniel Peters of Seattle: “Here are a couple things that I noted about the bird. It seemed to like to hang around a group of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and was very active. We did not see as much of the tail bobbing that had been previously described, but the bird did move around a great deal. As far as the physical appearance, I noticed in particular that the bird appeared very plump, had a distinctive shorter bill, a very spotty back which contrasted strikingly against the pale belly, dark greenish/yellow legs, and a VERY apparent white supercilium. In flight the white rump is so vivid that it looks like someone just took a paintbrush and slathered white paint over the rump and tail. Really the bird looks like nothing else out there at the time. Everyone was getting fantastic looks as we left.”
We have the luxury here of a bird that has chosen to stay around for everyone to enjoy (even those of us who’ve chosen to twitch from home). These efforts at description have truly enhanced that experience and I, for one, am grateful. The next mega-tick may not be so cooperative and more people may find themselves in my boat. Here's hoping the fine example set by John and Nathaniel will catch on.