Getting Knotty

Semipalmated Sandpiper

As I've said before, I'm trying to learn as much about shorebirds this year as I can, so it was off to Cedar Key today for a few hours.  The first stop was Shell Mound where we had great looks at a nice little variety of birds.  We had three plovers including Semipalmated (left), Wilson's and Black-bellied.  We also saw Marbled Godwits, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, Willets, Western Sandpipers, and Dowitchers (probably Short-billed and, no, I'm not ready to tackle the Long/Short issue just yet).  While I was scanning, I saw a bird that was larger than a nearby Turnstone.  It as a soft gray with a straight bill that was longer than that of the nearby Sanderlings.  The legs looked light - not yellow ... greenish maybe?  And there was some indistinct mottled areas on the flanks.  It was time to trot out the field guide apps and page through Sibly, Peterson and Audubon.  After some thought, we decided we were looking at a nonbreeding Red Knot which was joined by a second one a little later.  We tried to get some pics, but a weak battery  meant we got one shot (right).  Unfortunately, the Knot would not give us a profile.

Nonbreeding Red Knot on the left

Later we found a large collection of peeps along Route 24 near Bridge 3 for those of you who know the area.  I thought this would be a great chance to study a variety of the little guys, but mostly it was a chance to search for anything different among LOTS of of Western Sandpipers.  Eventually I found one that was a little smaller, paler, and with a smaller bill.  I also thought that the legs were not black, more like a green, so my best guess was Semipalmated Sandpiper.  There were no Least Sandpipers at all.  One nice bonus was a few American Avocets, in my opinion one of the most gorgeous of all birds.

Overall, it was another great day of birding (yes, I know ... that was redundant) and I had a lot of opportunities to study shorebirds.  One bird who appeared to be studying me ... from less then 10 feet away ... is pictured below.  I took the picture with my iPhone.