Cormorants, Terns, Whimbrel, SF Bay Area, Early January (1 Viewer)

Sasquatch Fingers

International Man of Leisure

• Feb 4, 2017

• #1

1. Brandt's Cormorant?
2. Pelagic Cormorant? Seems early for the breeding plumage.
3. Pretty sure it's a Whimbrel but it looked a lot like the Bristle-Thighed Curlew when I was looking in the book. I eliminated the BTC on range though, so this is just a courtesy confirmation.
4. This tern may be the same one in the next series.
5. Tern, obviously. Forster's? Arctic on migration?

 

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Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Feb 4, 2017

• #2

3 yep, [Hudsonian] Whimbrel
4 Forster's Tern
5 Top 3 Forster's Tern, 4th unidentifiable

Pass on the cormorants

 

Sasquatch Fingers

International Man of Leisure

• Feb 4, 2017

• #3

5. The fourth was the same bird as the first three in that set. I included that because it gave a better look at the shape of the tail than the others.

 

R

rkj

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2017

• #4

Nutcracker said:

3 yep, [Hudsonian] Whimbrel
4 Forster's Tern
5 Top 3 Forster's Tern, 4th unidentifiable

Pass on the cormorants

Click to expand...

I agree with Nutcracker on the last three and believe you are right about the cormorants.

 

Last edited: Feb 5, 2017

R

rkj

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2017

• #5

And I can add that if you think this is early for Pelagic Cormorants to be showing their breeding plumage, some were in it already a month ago!

 

Sasquatch Fingers

International Man of Leisure

• Feb 4, 2017

• #6

I don't know them well yet, I was basing that on the range given in Sibley.

Thanks, folks.

 

TLeukering

Well-known member

• Feb 5, 2017

• #7

Nutcracker said:

3 yep, [Hudsonian] Whimbrel
4 Forster's Tern
5 Top 3 Forster's Tern, 4th unidentifiable

Pass on the cormorants

Click to expand...

Actually, it is identifiable, as long as one is willing to rule out rarities from the get-go. It is a fork-tailed species and it has pale primaries from above. That's enough at that location at that season to rule out all but Forster's. Of course, there's really only one fork-tailed tern species that is regular in California in winter, so that would have been enough. But, the wing coloration can rule out an out-of-place Common Tern.