semipalmated sandpiper? Salton Sea, Cal.

[sue-o]

Hi,

I have another bad photo to put up for id help. I was just loading my photos to another place and came upon some that I was never was sure of. This one was shot in April, 2007 at the Salton Sea in California. The bill looked too long for semi, but the white flanks confused me. Could it be a juvenile Western with so much marking on the breast? Also, I would have expected a droopier bill for Western. But angle could account for that. Thanks in advance.
Sue

[AndyB]

Hi Sue-o, you have an adult Western Sandpiper there - long bill and rufous cap and ear coverts are good features. Semi-palmated is pretty rare in CA and Western and Least are the expected peeps.

Salton Sea, lovely place if you can overlook the searing heat, humidity and smell of rotting fish...in all serious the birdlife is stunning there with phenomenal numbers of shorebirds in the summer and terrific wildfowl numbers in the winter - lots of Snow and Ross's Geese. A must for any birder visiting CA.

[sue-o]

Thanks, Andy. I knew that the semi's were rare but I also knew that they are sometimes spotted at the S. sea. I left Cal just after I got into birding and have not had the pleasure of getting to know my native state's birds in all their plumages. I was confused mainly because I thought I should see the little 'diamonds' on the flanks of a Western in April. But now that you've verified Western I realized it was April 1st when I was there; maybe too early for breeding plumage?
April must be the time to go because it was a great day for me. No dead fish smell or humidity.;)
Thanks again.
Sue