Hi Tweets,

Apparently a hundred or so Western Sandpipers Calidris mauri came in to the
tip of the Iona S Jetty, some in fresh Alternate about four days ago. Now
whether these were northerly-wintering birds moving up with Dunlin C. alpina
from a wintering site not far south of here, perhaps even as close as
Roberts Bank, or an actual first-arrival long-distance flock from S America
is, I think, a point worthy of discussion. Some of the Dunlin were showing
some russet scapulars and black mottling on their bellies.

The difficulty of assigning arrival status to these birds is that we know
next to nothing of their molt-cycle when they winter in the vicinity. Do
Dunlin, wintering Western Sandpipers, wintering Black-bellied Plover
Pluvialis squatarola begin to show their pre-Alternate molt plumages here,
or do they begin molt only after leaving the wintering ground? How much
moving around--if any--do they do during the later stages of the winter but
before the arrival of the actual northbond migration?

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)