A few misc birds from Playa Del Ray, Ca today (1 Viewer)

First bird is some kind of Grebe. I can't decide if it's an Eared or Horned.

Second bird image is very blurry (sorry). Small rock bird. Light brown above, and white below. Yellowy legs, pinkish bill, and a white eye-ring. Any ideas?

Third bird is another rock bird. Small peep like bird.

Hi Ponyrcr,

Picture 1: Looks like a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Picture 2: Looks like a Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)
Picture 3: Looks like a Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Maybe wrong but this looks to me and better wait for someone from the US to answer

Alejandro

PONYRCR said:

First bird is some kind of Grebe. I can't decide if it's an Eared or Horned.

Second bird image is very blurry (sorry). Small rock bird. Light brown above, and white below. Yellowy legs, pinkish bill, and a white eye-ring. Any ideas?

Third bird is another rock bird. Small peep like bird.

Click to expand...

1. Slavonian / Horned Grebe
2. Spotted Sandpiper
3. Least Sandpiper

Good birding
Alan

I agree on those, and I'm from the USA, so my opinion is the one that REALLY matters.

Agree on 1 being Horned Grebe (Slavonian to some of the audience...I love the foreign name differences) and 3 being Least Sandpiper...

But let's open up the discussion on number 2. I'd like to throw Wandering Tattler in to the mix. The Wandering Tattler has yellow legs, is rather nondescript, similar to a non-breeding plumage Spotted.

Now I agree that the bird in the photo looks a little better for a Spotted Sandpiper than a Wandering Tattler, but we're seeing one frame, sorta blurry (but better than any of my photos). However, a Spotted Sandpiper is an inland shorebird and Playa Del Rey is right on the coast. Also, look at those clams in the photo; that's where a Wandering Tattler is going to be found. If you do some googling and find pictures of Tattlers, those clam shells are in most of the photos. See a couple links below.

So I could be converted, but I'd say Wandering Tattler.

PONYRCR, a Spotted Sandpiper has a habit of bobbing its tail incessantly. If you watched the bird for any amount of time you would notice it. Do you remember this bird doing that?

Andy - Newark, CA

;-) ...and my opinion matters even more than AmpelisChinito's, since I not only live in the USA, but California (albeit 362 miles north of Playa Del Rey)! Of course, I'll be trumped by any Orange County birders about to chime in.


http://www.roysephotos.com/zzWanderingTattler4D.jpg
http://www.waders.org/photos/recent/2004-04-29_15-58-01.html

I tend to agree with Wandering Tattler
Here is a similar pic I took of one in Monterey Ca a couple of years ago for comparison to JoAnne's picture

I'm still sticking with Wandering Tattler, but Chubri's photo shows the one thing about JoAnne's bird that I don't like for Tattler; the short wingtips. Your photo, and all the others I found a few minutes ago, show that Tattler's wings extend beyond the tip of the tail. JoAnne's bird looks like it has wingtips that are just even with or shorter than the tip of the tail. But habitat still makes me lean toward Wandering Tattler.

Andy - Newark, CA

...who is still the closest thing to a local to contribute to this thread, being some 50 miles closer to LA than Chubri!

After tweaking on the orig photo, I also see a Spotted Sandpiper. I agree with Newarks statement regarding the clams though. So now it's seems we are all in agreement.

LOL...Gentoo is closer, where is he when we need him?

newarkbirdguy said:

I'm still sticking with Wandering Tattler, but Chubri's photo shows the one thing about JoAnne's bird that I don't like for Tattler; the short wingtips. Your photo, and all the others I found a few minutes ago, show that Tattler's wings extend beyond the tip of the tail. JoAnne's bird looks like it has wingtips that are just even with or shorter than the tip of the tail. But habitat still makes me lean toward Wandering Tattler.

Andy - Newark, CA

...who is still the closest thing to a local to contribute to this thread, being some 50 miles closer to LA than Chubri!

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Okay, so I'm not normally as close, but since I've been stuck at the airport in Los Angeles (LAX) for several hours, I guess that I'm close enough at the moment. The two candidates under consideration are rather similar. But NBG, you are on the right track in talking yourself into Spotted Sandpiper, for that is indeed what it is. In addition to the structural differences you point out, Spotted Sandpiper is a browner bird than the very grayish tattler. The mystery bird is distinctly brownish. Also, the face pattern differs between the two candidates. A tattler should have a bold whitish supraloral stripe (eyebrow between bill and eye) and no postocular stripe, unlike the mystery bird. On the other hand, that works for Spotted Sandpiper, which show a pale postocular supercillium and a variable supraloral stripe (mostly absent on the mystery bird). Another clearcut feature is the color of the flanks. They should be gray on a tattler, not the snowy white they are on Spotted Sandpiper and the mystery bird.

Chris

Chris Benesh said:

Okay, so I'm not normally as close, but since I've been stuck at the airport in Los Angeles (LAX) for several hours, I guess that I'm close enough at the moment. The two candidates under consideration are rather similar. But NBG, you are on the right track in talking yourself into Spotted Sandpiper, for that is indeed what it is. In addition to the structural differences you point out, Spotted Sandpiper is a browner bird than the very grayish tattler. The mystery bird is distinctly brownish. Also, the face pattern differs between the two candidates. A tattler should have a bold whitish supraloral stripe (eyebrow between bill and eye) and no postocular stripe, unlike the mystery bird. On the other hand, that works for Spotted Sandpiper, which show a pale postocular supercillium and a variable supraloral stripe (mostly absent on the mystery bird). Another clearcut feature is the color of the flanks. They should be gray on a tattler, not the snowy white they are on Spotted Sandpiper and the mystery bird.

Chris

Click to expand...

LAX is closet to Playa Del Rey. In fact it's just North of the airport.

One more picture of the mystery bird...Sorry it's even more blurry then the first.

This picture makes it look a bit more grey, but the bird was a light brown color. Definately not grey.

Chris, thanks for chiming in and adding to the discussion. Who hasn't waited for a flight at LAX? For those of you who haven't you've probably been stuck at O'Hare, LaGuardia, or Hartfield Intl...just imagine those experiences and remove the charms, and you have an idea of what being stuck at LAX is like. It really isn't like the move "The Terminal" at all.

Also Chris, thanks for the added comments. I can lean more and more toward Spotted now... ;-)

Andy - Newark, CA

newarkbirdguy said:

Chris, thanks for chiming in and adding to the discussion. Who hasn't waited for a flight at LAX? For those of you who haven't you've probably been stuck at O'Hare, LaGuardia, or Hartfield Intl...just imagine those experiences and remove the charms, and you have an idea of what being stuck at LAX is like. It really isn't like the move "The Terminal" at all.

Click to expand...

LOL! Since I am stuck at LAX for at least another hour, I thought I would throw out another point that I forgot to mention earlier. The bill. That is, the bird has the bill of a Spotted Sandpiper. For starters, it is too short for a Tattler bill. PONYRCR noted that the bill looked pinkish in the field, and the bill of Spotted is often rather pinky-tan in color, whereas the bill of a tattler is generally dark grayish with a dull yellowish-horn color restricted to the base of the mandible.

Chris

In L.A. hoping my plane comes sometime soon!

Second one looks like a typical Spotted Sandpiper for me.