We’ll probably never make the varsity birdwatching team. After many years trying, we still can’t tell most Sandpipers apart.
Varsity birders see a brown blur and say: “Look – medium size, no clear wing stripe, slightly curved beak, greenish legs – it’s a Pectoral Sandpiper!” Our usual method of identification is to take as many photos of the blur as we can and then compare them to the Sandpipers in Peterson and Sibley – which often don’t completely match our photos.
Applying our method, we think that the birds that you see here might be Pectoral Sandpipers. These birds get their name from the male’s attempts to impress the ladies by flexing his pectoral muscles to puff out his chest and body. Take a look at the Lothario in the image directly above.
(Brooklin, Maine)