I Think That it's a Sandpiper. But Which One Is It?

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This afternoon I was in a local park, near some wetlands that bordered Tampa Bay. There were a number of very small sandpipers near the shore. Most of them were the common brownish variety. There were four or five though, that were very different.

These birds had a black cap, white undersides, light grey back. Some of them had grey wings, the others black. They had a short, pointed, beak. They were extremely noisy as they flitted about.

I checked three bird books, and the internet. For the life of me, I cannot find any bird that fits this description. I am wondering if they are accidentials, possibly from the tropics.

Can anyone help me out with this?

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I found a picture of the birds, but the picture did not say what they were!

http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/graphics/shorebirds.jpg

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Do sandpipers migrate? Could they have been taking a break on the way north? Twitchers are organized people. Are there any web sites devoted to Birds of the Atlantic Seaboard?

You have my sympathy. Loose ends and feathered strangers are maddening.

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Noddy- I have been looking all around Google, and it's driving me nuts. I think that I will go to the library, and look up some books on shorebirds.

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They look like terns to me, not sandpipers. Look in the section of your birdbook near seagulls.

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A google image search for "Arctic tern" turned up images that look like the right bird:

http://www.cfo-link.org/Images/June03/Artevt_lakeholbrook.jpg

(edited to fix fried link)

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lab rat - Yeah, I saw those. They look very similar, but Arctic Terns are about 14-17 inches long. The little guys that I saw were about the same size as Least Sandpipers, which are 5- 6 1/2 inches long. Also, they were behaving like sandpipers, moving skittishly along the shore.

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Have you looked at this website?

Lesser Crested Tern?

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Wow! that would be an amazing sighting! a lot of North Americans would probably like that for their life list.

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Terns with Orange Beaks

Yep, it would and they would. If those birds are there, then the twitcher-forums in Florida must be lit-up.

33 cm... that's more than 10 inches, though, right? While it is hard to estimate sizes, I'm expecting Phoenix has a good eye.

I just can't see those birds you posted Phoenix as anything but terns. They could also be Least Terns (8-10 inches), but in the photo anyway, the beaks looked so orange. Least Terns would also be good for a lifelist... they're on the endangered species list.

Here's one...

http://a1410.g.akamai.net/f/1410/1633/7d/209.133.64.45/birds/birds_m/BD0078_1m.jpg

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I've got Least Terns checked off on my list. Watching and waiting to see what Phoenix thinks of your options, Piffka.

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The birds did not have crests, and their bills did not have black at the tip. It did not have the white on the head as in Piffka's picture. I was pretty close to them, and they were very small...........that is what is driving me nuts!

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have you keyed them out through enature.com?

http://www.enature.com/guides/select_Birds.asp

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maybe they were babies??

maybe their colors would change as they matured??

(just a thought)

(loving all the links to the websites!!)

PaL
:-)

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ehBeth- thanks for the link...............nothing. Those dern birds look just like the pic that I posted, esp. the one on the left. I am wondering if they are accidentals from Central America.

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Phoenix,

It's definitely some type of tern. Here are a bunch of pics. http://images.ofoto.com/photos641/1/81/2/3/17/1/117030281105_0_ALB.jpg

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Swimpy- I think that you need to authorize me for me to see those pics.

Quote:

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /photos641/1/81/2/3/17/1/117030281105_0_ALB.jpg on this server.

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Apache/1.3.27 Server at im62.ofoto.com Port 80

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I just did Google image search on "tern"

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I Think That it's a Sandpiper. But Which One Is It?

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