winkg@vice.UUCP (Wink Gross) (08/18/85)
Usually each year we get 1 or 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers at Bayocean,
near Tillamook, OR. Last Friday, August 16, among the ~1000
of (mostly) juvenile Western Sandpipers at Bayocean were at least
10 juvenile Semipalmateds. It's possible that there were many more.
Juvenile Semipalmateds differ from Juvenile Westerns in having a
noticeably shorter, but heavier, bill and in being plumper, more rounded.
The picture of the heads of the 3 small peep in the new edition of the
Eastern Peterson makes the difference clear. The Semipalmateds were
more often associated with Least Sandpipers higher up on the beach
than most of the Westerns.
Perhaps we are witnessing an "invasion" of Semipalmated Sandpipers
on the West Coast this year. Birders to the south may want to be on
the lookout.
There were also more Baird's Sandpipers than we usually see, too.
Perhaps a related phenomenon?
Wink Gross
Tektronix, Inc
Beaverton, OR