Shorebirds

The big news in Oregon birding this week is the Wood Sandpiper found at Fern Ridge Reservoir west of Eugene (Birding Oregon p. 90). This is the first record for Oregon, and one of only a few records for North America south of Alaska. Of regional interest was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Tualatin River NWR, just west of Tigard. I wasn’t able to chase either of these birds, so I had to settle for a few more common species at Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61).

While we can’t see the bill on this individual, the bold stripes and orange tail identify this bird as a Wilson’s Snipe.

Here is a Greater Yellowlegs. The bill is more than half the total length of the head. On a Lesser Yellowlegs, the bill is about half the total head length, and the bird is considerably smaller overall.