Ric, I saw a pair of these birds at the Wastewater today (1/24/11) and cannot ID them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am leaning towards Wilson's Snipe. Thank you, Rick Hamlin  Thanks for the photo! They sure look like snipe. Perhaps a better question is what are they doing here this time of year? I've emailed a few birders to have a look and leave comments if they care to. Yours is another good example of a photo that should be clicked and then clicked again to really see the birds up close and personal. Thanks again for sending! - Ric . |
Monday, January 24, 2011
Two Snipe at Wastewater Monday
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6 comments:
Thanks Ric!
Rick
Jan 24 Email from Caleb Putnam:
Ric and Rick-
Wilson's Snipes are pretty rare in Michigan in the winter- this is a great record. Please make sure it gets eBirded!
When I lived in Montana, I was surprised to learn that this species (and some other ones like Marsh Wren and Viriginia Rail) are much more common in winter out west than here in Michigan. I still have no idea why this is, esp. when Montana is the colder of the two.
Good find!
Caleb
Jan 24 Email from Rick:
Thanks guys, I posted them on e-bird! If anyone is interested in looking for them, I saw them in one of the ditches between the overflow ponds, just east of Maple Island Rd and south of White Rd.
Rick
Tough call if you ask me -- without seeing them in flight as to see the full wings & secondaries. What are you guy's seeing to determine it as a probable Wilson's over a Common? I allways thought the only real diff. was through the "banding" under the wings, and the secondaries -- so without flight I.D. they're literally identical. Have I been wrong? Jeez -- I'm usually right 1 to 2% of the time! :)
Mike V.
Assuming Mike's not just blowing smoke (or smoking something he shouldn't) I was going by the fact that the Wastewater is in North America and the Wilson's is the only N. American snipe. Mike's info. about the banding under the wings is interesting, but I still suspect the odds of two Common Snipe being in Muskegon are even longer than the odds of Mike being right. ;-) On the other hand, my kind of thinking will never find a rarity!
Thanks Ric,
I thought maybe Mike was sending me off on a snipe hunt! Into the swamp at night, gunny sack in hand! Here Snipe! Here Snipe!
Rick
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