Seward, Alaska
An unexpected gift arrived today, slipped between rainy days and a gloomy forecast for more until the end of time: sunshine! The rise in temperature from the low 50s to low 60s felt like summer once again. I left all my leaky raingear at home and headed for the beach with a smile.
For the past couple weeks, the most reliable shorebirds have been GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Dashing after amphipods, small fish, and other entrees, they seemed oblivious to my presence. Apparently, a weird piece of driftwood suddenly appearing on the flats did not alarm them, and often they walked right towards and past me, only slightly puzzled. I guessed these were innocent babes-of-the-year.
As I strolled along, I passed several small groups of Yellowlegs, mostly Lessers. A few LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS fed nearby, poking and prodding in the silt. Then I flushed two larger shorebirds, silhouetted against the sun in the worst possible lighting conditions. I hate to complain about the sun, especially when it is so scarce, but photography was less than ideal.
Fortunately, I was able to keep track of one and managed to slowly circle around to put the sun at my back. As I hoped, these were juvenile PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. The preoccupied bird found a feast under a stranded log at the side of a small intertidal stream, perhaps amphipods trying to hide. It moved slowly along the log, gobbling up the calories. Upon reaching the end, it walked up the bank, stopped, and tucked a sleepy head under a wing for a nap.
The Pectoral Sandpipers must have flown a long way from the northern coastal tundra these past few days. This long-distance migrator is heading as far as southern South America. Some make a round-trip migration of nearly 19,000 miles according to All About Birds.
The sun lit up the yellow legs of these shorebirds today, whether shimmering underwater, lifted gracefully in a step, posing with a reflection, or scurrying along. It was a Yellow Legs bonanza!
For a good article on how to tell Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs apart, check out: https://www.thespruce.com/greater-or-lesser-yellowlegs-386349#:~:text=The%20greater%20yellowlegs%20and%20lesser,these%20two%20nearly%20identical%20species.
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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