One more--a shorebird this time

[Simcoe]

Another bird with with a couple of quick photos, at distance, that I keep revisiting to see if I can identify. It eludes me. Are there any identifiable features?


One way or another it would be good to know.


Cheers.

[Ally]

Greater Yellow Legs?

[Shortsighted]

Could be. More likely a Lesser because they are more abundant (common). The bill appears to be only slightly longer than the antero-posterior dimensions of its head. A Greater yellowlegs has a much longer bill. On one of your shots the bill appears somewhat longer than in the other so it could go either way.



First Lesser that I ever photographed at Cranberry Marsh in 2012


Greater YL
 

[Simcoe]

I have seen both the Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs in the area earlier in the year, but I thought this was a different species due to the absence of any streaking on the neck and breast. Would that be a seasonal difference?

[Shortsighted]

Your reply required a microscope to read. I must be losing my eyesight. Yellowlegs do not differ much from season to season. In the late summer and fall they might be a little less etched in their pattern of spots and streaks. The Greater is more striking vis-a-vis contrast than the Lesser. At the distance of your shot it is difficult to discern such details.

[Simcoe]

I have no idea how my last message ended up in a 1.5 pt font. Here it is in readable form:
I have seen both the Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs in the area earlier in the year, but I thought this was a different species due to the absence of any streaking on the neck and breast. Would that be a seasonal difference?[/color]

[Shortsighted]

Ah, so much easier to read now. 1.5 pt eh, ... it's almost Hallowe'en therefore it must be gremlins. I've posted a shot of both a Greater YL beside a Lesser YL. The two were hanging around each other so I took shots of them keeping each other company but in most situations one was always farther away than the other so they reigned in different focal planes. Can't have that! I then noticed that the Lesser would sometimes follow the Greater and I positioned myself so that when the reached the other side of the pool I could capture them both with equal focus. Sometimes I get lucky. Well, that's overstating it. I never really get lucky but I do get frustrated.


 

[Ally]

You are always the Greater Master!!

[Simcoe]

What a great photo.

[Shortsighted]

A Greater Master? Really? Heck, I was hoping to get a promotion to Greater Doofus from Lesser Doofus. No, wait, that's not right ... is it? I'm looking at this the wrong way! Would that even be a promotion, or a demotion? I'm getting disoriented from the very notion. Anyway, I'll leave rank up to you. You know best. Simcoe, I'm glad that you like the runway shot. It's what all the yellowlegs are wearing right now. It's called resignation chic.

[thouc]

I would say Greater Yellowlegs. The bill looks quite long and slightly upturned in the second picture. And they are less streaked in fall/winter compared to during breeding season.


/Thomas

[Ally]

I would say Greater Yellowlegs. The bill looks quite long and slightly upturned in the second picture. And they are less streaked in fall/winter compared to during breeding season.


/Thomas

I'm so happy you gave the same answer. When that happens, it makes me feel like a birder finally.

[Rotarran]

I agree with Greater.  Not sure if this helps but I once heard another birder saying that if you see a shorebird that could kick you in the face, it's probably a Greater Yellowlegs.  Now obviously it's an exaggeration but I often apply that in the field lol.