Chestnut-collared Longspur at Hornsby

Now is a good time to visit Hornsby to study the 3 small peeps (as Allan and I did this morning). Notice how the “frostier” semipalm and Western stick out in a group of brown Least. Notice the chevron marks on flanks of Western and lack of on Semipalm. Notice how colorful western is and…

Here’s a distant photo which illustrates how beneficial looking for paler hues can be. From Hornsby last night. These 2 Wilson’s Phalaropes really stick out. There’s also a really pale sandpiper to the left of Phalaropes which I did not notice at the time, but I’m thinking Semipalmated due to how “frosty” it looks compared…

Here’s a comparison between a molting adult (right) and a 1st fall Lesser yellowlegs. Notice the immaculate patterns on the back of the left bird (juve). The adult’s alternate feathers are worn and dull in the coverts and scapulars. You can see emerging basic mantle feathers on the adult which are gray and large and…