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Calidris mauri
Oder: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae This little shorebird is in nonbreeding plumage. The second and third has Wilson's Plovers on the left.
Coastline, Dunes
Picture was taken at Crescent Beach, St. Augustine, FL.
Spotted on Feb 19, 2012
Submitted on Jul 6, 2015
4 Comments
Haha. My parents still live on the beach, but I flew from the nest. It is challenging, but I am more convinced now that it is a Western Sandpiper and not a Dunlin.
It's all good- I tend to have difficulty identifying juveniles as well. On second look, I think you may be right about the bill. However, Florida is not particularly my area of expertise when it comes to shorebirds, so take it with a grain of salt. Or sand if you're still on the beach : )
Hmmm...that is a good point. I did not identify as a Sanderling because the bill is slightly curved at the end. I don't think it is a juvenile Western Sandpiper since they generally have rufous-colored edges of the scapular, however it could be an adult Western Sandpiper with non-breeding plumage. This makes sense for the size compared to the Wilson's Plover and the length of the bill (which should be generally longer on a Dunlin). I was not 95% confident about this identification and now I believe it is a Western Sandpiper. I will look into it a bit more. Thank you ThomasCaelifera.
It could also be either a juvenile western sandpiper (Calidris mauri) or a juvenile sanderling (Calidris alba)