Member Discovers Hybrid Shorebird at Honeymoon Island
By Jim McGinity, Florida Young Birders/Florida Aviation Conservation
It wasn’t until I moved to Florida for work (first in Naples and now in Dunedin) that I lived close to the shoreline where shorebirds spend most of the winter and some even nest here.
Most long-time birders will advise new birders to get to know the more common birds in your area so that when something different shows up, you will notice it. That very thing happened to my wife and I during a walk at Honeymoon Island State Park June 18th.
We came across a small, mixed group of shorebirds that we took a look at. Immediately, there was one that stood out. The first thing we noticed were the yellow legs and the fact that it was larger than a Least Sandpiper.
We came across a small, mixed group of shorebirds that we took a look at. Immediately, there was one that stood out. The first thing we noticed were the yellow legs and the fact that it was larger than a Least Sandpiper.
After further examination, we noticed the primary projection was quite long with the wing tips clearly past the tail. The other shorebirds with yellow legs that we considered were Pectoral and Buff-breasted Sandpipers. We had recently seen both in south Texas in April and this bird didn’t fit either one of these species.
We took a handful of photos so that we could confer with other birders more experienced with migrant shorebirds.
After sending a few of the best photos to various local birders, it became clear that there was no consensus. I then shared the photos with some expert birders, and even two authors of bird books in different parts of the country.
They got VERY EXCITED about this bird. One of them asked if we could go back to see the bird again and try to get photos of the underside of the wing and the tail area. We were able to re-find the bird and get better photos and a couple short video clips showing the bird’s feeding behavior.
With this additional information, the experts agreed that this bird was indeed a hybrid of two different species of sandpiper: White-rumped x Buff-breasted Sandpipers. The yellow legs, silvery under wing are traits of the Buff-breasted and the long wings, face/bill and tail are traits from a White-rumped Sandpiper.
It just goes to show you that you never know what you are going to see when out birding and how important it is to know your local birds really well so that you will be able to pick out new or unusual birds that come through your neighborhood.
