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Godwit? - Delaware, USA (1 Viewer)

paul_soda

Member
United States
Hello,

I'm guessing Godwit of some kind but unsure which. White patch on tail and dark supercilium leads me to Hudsonian but apparently those are rare at this time? Appreciate others' opinions! Also, if anyone has insight into the IDs of the other shorebirds in the photo I would love to know. Yellowlegs?

Best,
Paul
 

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This photo was taken yesterday October 10th, at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge! There was actually a surprise American Pelican in the same pond :)
 
W
Can you give the date, please? Thanks. A closer location might help someone too.
Circled one seems OK for Hudsonian godwit (uniformish upperparts, long pale supercilium). (NB you seem to misplacing supercilia!)
Immediately right of it there's another, and the others are 2 greater yellowlegs and a lesser yellowlegs.
The bird immediately right of it’s also a greater yellowleg not a godwit.

Edit- what I meant is that there’s 3 greater yellowlegs, a lesser yellowlegs and a Hudsonian godwit.
 
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It is a Hudsonian Godwit. That’s a good find, but perfectly within the window of their expected migration. There have been a lot of them sighted with the strong easterly winds that have been frequent lately. They typically migrate offshore, and the east winds push them closer to land. During the tropical storm at the end of September there were impressive numbers being seen. Under those conditions, and at the right time of year, they become expected near the coast. They can even be seen in numbers at good high ground roosting areas when storm surges cause coastal flooding. Yours comes following those events and is much less of an expected bird to see. They’re scarce to encounter without the persuasion of strong weather events.
 
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