Solitary sandpiper - my first ever

What I originally thought was a lesser yellowlegs is actually a solitary sandpiper.

I have to say that I am very fond of shorebirds.  I commonly see least sandpipers, spotted sandpipers, and killdeer.  Less common are dowitchers, turnstones, and greater yellowlegs.  But this summer was a first for me; I saw the solitary sandpiper in Didsbury, Alberta.  I originally mistook it for a marbled godwit in the field, and then, after posting, inadvertently found it was a solitary sandpiper. Thanks to the management team of the Facebook group "Alberta Birds" for spotting the error and letting me know.  Below is a photo taken from the Cornell Lab's website All About Birds.


As you can see, the species are similar.  They have similar sizes, shapes, habits, and leg colour.  The photo I took (top image) shows a bit of a white bar in front of the eye.  There is just a speck in the same place on the solitary sandpiper while the lesser yellowlegs has a similar bar.  Clearly, bird identification is not a clear-cut business.  One of the things to contend with is that there may be subtle differences of observed species compared to those images found in guides, online, or even from memory.

Even though I didn't see a lesser yellowlegs I am still thrilled to have seen a new species.  Perhaps I will get it right next time I come across one.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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