Long-billed Dowitcher | Limnodromus scolopaceus | Bécassin à long bec

            Fall leaves reflect a delicate yellow on the water at Prince Edward County's Hamilton Wetland, illuminating a Long-billed Dowitcher (right) and a Lesser Yellowlegs (left) with an autumnal glow, two shorebirds briefly stopping over on their north south journey to warmer wintering grounds.

Long-billed Dowitcher is a rare but annual visitor to the County. Its presence became more apparent after bird watchers learned to distinguish it from the commoner Short-billed Dowitcher. 

The call for one is diagnostic - a sharp "keek" for Long-billed and a mellow "tu-tu-tu" for Short-billed. When birds are silent, subtle plumage differences come into play. On juvenile dowitchers, such as this one, the focus is on the tertials, the feather grouping at the top back end of the bird overlaying the folded wings and tail. The Long-billed's are plain grey narrowly edged with rusty brown. In contrast, the Short-billed's same set of feathers are tiger-striped orange and dark.

The scene looks quite idyllic, but the wetland is in fact a large watering hole for a herd of cattle. Mesmerized by the photo opportunity, I crouched oblivious in the mud at the edge of the pool, focussed on the birds, until a soft mutter beside me indicated the cows had arrived and wanted a drink. I calmly backed away. Cows are really big up close!

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Bethel (show map)

Taken on: September 29, 2020

Tags:

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Hamilton Wetland

Prince Edward County

Ontario

Canada

Bird

Sandpiper

Wader

Shorebird

Nature

Wildlife

Canon

1D X Mark II

600mm f/4L IS III

Extender EF 1.4X III « less

Sets appears in: • Prince Edward County

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Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, 840mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Lens:	EF600mm f/4L IS III USM +1.4x III
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length:	840mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 9.4 (Macintosh)
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