Three Dunlins were observed this afternoon at the outlet by both myself and Wayne S. They were medium-sized, grayish shorebirds with long, black bills. They had white superciliums. They flew over the causeway once or twice while I was there, but always came back to the mossy part of the canal in front of the spillway. They vocalized several times.
I thought I would just give another update on these birds, which are a Life List species for me! 🙂
Interesting bird. My guess is that this is a bit of leucism and/or part of the range of variation we see due to cross-breeding between junco subspecies. Every year I see a number of “oddballs” that I’ve interpreted to be something other than a “pure” Oregon or Slate-colored – and assume that this hybridization between subspecies produces plumage anomalies.
But, that’s just an educated guess … and I don’t see anything structurally that suggests a different shape than a usual junco.
“Maybe… An apparent Slate-colored individual was foraging near the feeding station. It had a gray head with a small, white throat patch above a gray breast. It had a white belly. It had mostly gray wings. Its secondaries were tinged with brown, and it had a small white spot near its left shoulder. It had gray sides and a gray tail. There was a little bit of brown near its vent/lower side. The white throat immediately caught my attention, and made me wonder if it was a hybrid. I did get some photos.”
10:15 this a.m.did outlet canal first ring bill gull killdeer no sparrows drove to pavement on fence line sparrows & house finch lower dam..few spots open water 4 comm. Golden eyes. water pipet back to canal bang # 2 dunlins kestrel pipet. Kingfisher yellow rump .birds move around pays to recheck areas
