The Cosmopolitan Sanderling

Sanderling, Coos Bay, Oregon, 28 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

Flocks of small sandpipers chasing the waves in-and-out on the beach--anywhere in the world--are likely to be Sanderlings. Like wind-up toys they run in quick bursts on stiff legs.

Sanderlings are circumpolar nesters in the remote Arctic of both Siberia and Canada. They winter along nearly all the coasts of North America. But that's not all. Some birds migrate south from their breeding grounds through all continents south to southern South America, southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand! In other words, there aren't too many places in the world where Sanderlings don't visit.

Sanderling, Coos Bay, Oregon, 28 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

In the non-breeding season they are pale gray; in the breeding season they have a brownish-red plumage. They can sometimes be mistaken for other shorebirds--even the rare Red-necked Stint. However, as you can see by the top photo, Sanderlings lack hind toes, while most other smaller shorebirds have them.

In the Pacific Northwest, Sanderlings are common on the outer beaches from August to February, less common March-May and July. A few non-breeders may be found in summer, but mostly they are absent from the last week of May to the first week of July. Rare inland, nearly all inland records are from August, during the southbound migration.

Sunshine at the feeder

Lesser Goldfinch, Beaverton, Oregon, 19 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

A nice surprise at the feeder!

A previous post on Lesser Goldfinches.

Horned Grebe

Horned Grebe, Hagg Lake, Washington County, Oregon, 1 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

In autumn, Horned Grebes move from their breeding grounds to deeper ponds and lakes south or coastally to winter wherever deeper waters remain ice-free. Two birds were swimming and diving right under the floating dock at Hagg Lake on November 1, allowing me really great looks at 10-15 feet away.

Where can you find them right now?

Map of Horned Grebe sightings in the Pacific NW in eBird, October-December 2011.

A previous article: ID Challenge: Horned and Eared Grebes in winter

Anna's Hummingbird in flight

Year-round resident Anna's Hummingbird, Beaverton, Oregon, 6 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

Even though I recently sang the praises of the new National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds (6th Edition), it didn't help with the identification of the hummingbird outside my window. Though I knew that the hummingbird was likely an Anna's Hummingbird, the NatGeo6 hasn't changed its artwork of Costa's Hummingbirds since the first edition. Frankly, this field guide doesn't help with the separation of female Costa's and Anna's Hummingbirds.

That's why I have many field guides, and specialty guides too. No book can be all things to all people. And even if one field guide was superior, there's nothing wrong with variety.

In his book, the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding, Kenn Kaufman has a chapter on hard-to-identify hummingbirds.

Perhaps because I rarely go to places with any hummingbirds but Rufous and Anna's, I've always had trouble with female hummingbirds of the Anna's/Costa's/Ruby-throated/Black-chinned type--in other words, hummingbirds that look very similar to the one depicted above.

So I spent some time recently observing the hummingbirds at the feeders outside my window. I practiced observing tail feather shape, facial pattern, and inner primary width--with the help of my camera. I feel a bit better prepared now in case some unexpected female hummingbird pops up (as they can do in the autumn of the year). Better prepared, yes, but I still would hope that a future rare hummer at my feeder will be an easier to identify male!

Map of winter range of Anna's Hummingbird in the Pacific NW based on eBird data.

A previous post on Anna's Hummingbirds.

The wing

Black-footed Albatross, off Newport, Oregon, 15 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

The wing of birds is analogous to the arm of humans. This is most evident on longer-winged birds like the albatross above. They have a shoulder, elbow, and wrist. They have similar bones--a humerus in the upper arm, and radius and ulna in the lower arm. The hand, or manus, is composed of several fused hand and finger bones--it's more like one long finger.

Primaries are attached to the hand. Primaries are numbered from inner to outer, P1 to P10 in the photo above. Birds have from 8-11 primaries, depending upon species. In general, most non-Passerines have 10 primaries; most Passerines have 9 primaries.

Secondaries are attached to the ulna. Secondaries are numbered from outer to inner. Birds have a variable number of secondaries depending upon the length of the wing.

Primaries and secondaries are called the flight feathers of the wing, or remiges. (The tail with its retrices, are also considered "flight feathers.")

True tertials or tertiaries are feathers attached to the humerus, the bone from shoulder to elbow. They are not considered to be flight feathers, or remiges. Very long-winged birds have more tertials than shorter winged birds. Some bird families, including shorebirds and gulls, have modified tertials that are longer and distinctively marked.

In many smaller birds the humerus is so short as to be lacking separate tertial feathers. However, sometimes the inner 3 secondary feathers on passerines are called tertials when differently shaped or colored than the other secondary feathers.

Black-footed Albatrosses have 10 primaries, 25-29 secondaries, and numerous tertiaries or tertials.

 

Western Gull, Beaverton, Oregon, 17 February 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Most gulls have 10 primaries and 24 secondaries. They also have some true tertial feathers.

 

Vaux's Swift, Forest Grove, Oregon, 22 September 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Vaux's Swifts have 10 primaries, but only 6 (or 8, if you count very tiny) secondaries.

The very different lengths of the parts of the arm cause different styles of flapping.