Re: Need help with a shorebird ID

["Cliff and Lisa Weisse" <october at ida dot net>]

Again from Paulson:

"Short-billed is the dowitcher of salt water....  Rarely do
flocks show up in other situations, but I have seen a few on
Ocean Beaches on occasion and in great numbers on a flooded
golf course..."
Later:  "Habitat, distribution, and seasonal occurrence can
be guides to identification of the two species of
dowitchers, but they are not definitive.  Short-billed is a
saltwater species, while dowitchers on fresh water are
likely to be Long-billed. ...Long-billed commonly visits the
marine environment..."

At best these differences should suggest what is most likely
in a specific location but I'm not sure it's valid in Utah.
I think the salt water/fresh water differentiation may be
more of an indication of preferred habitat and/or migration
routes of the species.  Their selection of habitat might not
be based directly on the salinity of the water present at a
location.  Because Short-billeds tend to stick to coastal
habitats they are typically on salt water.  Long-billeds are
much more widespread and far more common inland.  As a
result they are more commonly seen on fresh water, possibly
not because they prefer fresh water so much as that's what's
available in the interior.  This is all just speculation on
my part.  I've never seen anything in print that addressed
the subject of water salinity preferences of dowitchers.
But I certainly wouldn't place much (any?) importance on
salinity of the water it was foraging in when trying to ID
any individual dowitcher.

Cliff


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