A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walking the beach...

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Shorebird ID is always tough for me because I don't get to see them that often, so when large flocks of assorted waders fly in, I really have to think. When trying to identify shorebirds, I focus on three things to start; leg color, bill shape, and height. Since I can't identify shorebirds yet by call, and I normally see them only in non-breeding plumage, sticking to the "big three" seems to be the best way for me to ID them.

A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walks the shore on Captiva Island in Florida.

Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed Dowitchers look a lot alike, but according to my "Birds of Florida" book by Pranty, Radamaker, and Kennedy, Long-billed Dowitchers are "restricted to fresh water during winter." Since it was the end of winter when I saw this bird, and he was standing where the land meets the sea, it was easy to deduce that this fellow was the short-billed version of the bird...

The Short-billed Dowitcher's field marks are pretty clear...a medium-sized shorebird with pale yellow legs and a very long, straight bill. Check!

...another determining field mark of a dowitcher is a black-and-white barred tail.

...the two yellow-legged Short-billed Dowitchers seem to be pointing at the tiny Dunlin in front of them. It's easy to see dowitchers are medium-sized birds compared to the tiny Dunlins or Sanderlings.

...for comparison, a Short-billed Dowitcher stands next to a Dunlin. (For an earlier post on Dunlins, click here.) Size, leg color, and bill shape are different between these two birds!

...not quite The Three Tenors, but these three Short-billed Dowitchers look dapper in the sun. Our little Dunlin doesn't seem to be able to keep his eyes open!