Saturday, May 24, 2008

Short-billed dowitchers

Identification in flight

A Birding Lesson for Camera Critters' followers
If you don’t bird watch, now is a good time to start.
If you don't want to start, just enjoy the photo.



Notice the white upper rump and pale secondaries which is unique to dowitchers.
Long-billed dowitchers typically have darker tails in flight rather than gray as seen here.

The bill length is not always reliable due to much overlap in bill length.
Sibley’s guide to birds has a nice comparison of dowitchers.

In the Summer, the Short-billed Dowitcher is usually found on the Southern Coast of Alaska, and the Long-billed is a Summer resident on the tundra and along the Arctic coast. During our 5 weeks in Alaska in 2006, we saw both species in their proper places.



Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
(Click on the photo to see identifying marks)
The gull didn’t get the memo,
He’s going the wrong direction



Photographed in Anchorage, Alaska
July 7, 2006


These birds were flying over Westchester Lagoon,
only a few hundred yards from the beach of Cooks Inlet



I love to watch them wheel and turn in flight. I never get tired of watching flocks of birds. Or, just give me a single bird. That will more than suffice.



Be sure to scroll down and see the exciting award we received today



Troy and Martha

34 comments:

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Troy: Amazing group of birds and the lone sea gull makes it special.

Cicero Sings said...

Thanks for visiting my blog(s). I'm glad you liked it.

You've got some great pics! I use a Canon G9 (since March/April ... before that a Pentax Optio S4) so only use point and shoots. The G9 has the potential to shoot RAW but I haven't gotten around to learning how to manipulate photos. So many things to do, to know, to learn ... it's hard to fit it all in! I just started trying out making a moving using the program that came with my iMac and also a pod cast .... fun but time consuming.

Daryl said...

Wonderful shot .. I wish there were more than pigeons in flocks to photograph here...

:-Daryl

Susan Demeter said...

That is a terrific action shot you've got!

This is my first week playing along, if you have a moment please do stop by :)

ShannonW said...

Beautiful photo! I would love to have been there in person.

Sharon said...

I love this photo, and enjoyed learning a bit of bird info! Thanks.

Misty DawnS said...

This is a FANTASTIC post! I love learning about and seeing different bird species! Thanks SO much for joining Camera-Critters and for sharing this with us!

david mcmahon said...

Love your remark about the gull not getting the memo!!

Little touches like that are what make your blog so memorable.

Maybe he did get the memo but was just gullible!

Barb said...

A beautiful capture. All the more wonderful to have been there in person. :)

Michele said...

Ah, well thank you for the lesson. I can use all the bird lessons I can get, believe me!... I don't purposely bird watch, it just happens when you go out into nature and it's great to be prepared!

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

No, I never get tried of birding. Nice shot and congratulations on the award. I can see it is well deserved.

ratmammy said...

What a fantastic photo!!

bcmomtoo said...

"The gull didn't get the memo" LOL!

I enjoyed this.

Berni said...

Great shot. I am not usually fast enough on the draw to catch a happening.

Juliana said...

wow....lots of birds. Nice shot

My CC in here Thanks

Carletta said...

Congrats on the award!
That is some flock of birds!
I actually like the gull up there in the corner.

Anonymous said...

Wow !! so much info and so many birds !
And it seem a letter for each one of them in their Latin name !! :P

It must have been fascinating to watch them .

Enjoy your weekend .

AppleDebbie said...

Beautiful photo!

Suzanne said...

What a wonderful photograph. Congrautlations on your blog award too.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Fantastic image and I love thre caption about the gull and the memo.

Duncan said...

A flock of waders or shorebirds flying fast takes some beating, demonstrates their ability to cover the vast distances they travel on migration.

Diederick Wijmans said...

A wonderful picture! Well done!

Christine and FAZ said...

We love bird watching where ever we go and, sadly, so does FAZ.

i beati said...

hilarious and a real find

Rhea said...

Great capture! I love seeing big groups of birds (flocks?) flying around...as a group they're so artistic...it's aerial ballet!

storyteller said...

I tend to watch birds when I travel but not so much when I’m at home … perhaps because we don’t have a wide variety where I live? I loved the photo you shared today. It reminds me of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. My sister & her husband spent 31 days in Alaska a couple of years ago … with an RV caravan tour. They loved it and sent back some wonderful photos!

Today I could use some ‘gopher’ advice if you (or others) have any … but the main event in my Camera Critters this week (at Small Reflections) is Molly meeting a ‘look-alike’ last weekend … named Molly!
Hugs and blessings,

Aisha said...

Now that is beautiful! Awesome shot! I really like it.

D... said...

Beautiful shot! And the photos in the above post are absolutely stunning. :)

Cath said...

Great post and superb shot. If you have seen my ramblings on my blog you will know how much I appreciate the skill in catching a shot of birds in flight - I have failed spectacularly several times and I am still trying; learning!

Nice to see that your gulls are stupid too [not just English ones!]
;0)

Heart of Rachel said...

Beautiful shot. It must be rewarding watching them in flight.

Anonymous said...

great shot! what a great view.

Anonymous said...

wonderful caprute!

Anonymous said...

Breathtaking! I thought the birds were standing in the water until I clicked. That's when my breath left me. So clear and so inspirational. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

If im in the situation of the owner of this blog. I dont know how to post this kind of topic. he has a nice idea.