I was back home by the time I saw this post today. But I ran into the bird in question, nonetheless. I think it's just a Dunlin, but I was actually quite excited about that. By the time most juveniles arrive in October, they've molted a lot of juvenile feathers into the gray cast of winter. Getting and photographing an early arrival was on my wanted list. That's what I think this is. I hadn't seen one like this before and this isn't quite what I expected. An interesting aspect of it, when glanced at from some angles is that it appears to be a buff fronted gray bird. A few pictures can be seen at http://www.stevewalternature.com/ (on the birds recent work page).
As Michael indicated, it frequented an area about 100 yards south of Dean Man's Cove. Other birds today were single Baird's, White-rumped, Solitary, Stilt Sandpipers. Also, a single Short-billed Dowitcher - that's what it's come to. At least it associated with the Stilt, providing opportunities for comparison pictures. A few Westerns are still around. So the variety could (and has been) worse. Still a Gull-billed Tern around. Getting late for that, it seems to me. Steve Walter Bayside, NY From: bounce-119621765-8873...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-119621765-8873...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Yuan Sent: Monday, September 07, 2015 1:10 PM To: NYSBirds; Nyc ebirds Subject: Re:[nysbirds-l] Mystery shorebird at JBWR East Pond 9-6-2015 Here's a color photo - https://flic.kr/p/xopRRk On Sep 7, 2015, at 12:22 PM, Michael Yuan <mjy...@gmail.com> wrote: Putting the word out for anyone going to Jamaica Bay today. Yesterday around 3:45pm, the Brooklyn Bird Club and I observed a medium-sized shorebird feeding on the North end of the East Pond, about 100 yards south of Dead Man's Cove. >From across the pond, and looking into less than ideal light, we observed it feeding with Stilt Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Noticed its long drooping bill, longer than White-rumped Sandpiper or Baird's Sandpiper, which got us thinking Dunlin, but its long wings and tapered rear end led us away from that notion and Western Sandpiper. Overall pale gray, with dark legs. Curlew Sandpiper fits some of these marks. Video at full speed. Bird in question is on the right. There's a slow-motion version of this video on the NY Birders Facebook page that might offer better detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuzoMyMdivk Highly cropped and unfortunately black&white digiscoped photo (thanks Steve Jobs!) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/88884477@N00/21032630680/ Sorry for the tardiness of the post, but due to the distance and viewing conditions it was difficult to get a sense of the bird until I had a chance to review the pics and video today. Good luck if you go! Mike Yuan Brooklyn, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> Please submit your observations to <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
