I went out to Llama Lake this evening and I sighted a single SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPER associating with a LEAST SANDPIPER. Its light gray color
immediately differentiated it from the nearby Least, and when I was able to
get the scope on it, I could see its black legs and short bill. Its lack of
strong rufous highlights, matched with a lack of markings on its side and
stubby bill seemed to rule out all but the most extreme Western Sandpipers.
I took some low quality photos and would appreciate it if some of you who
are more experienced with SESAswould take a look at them to either confirm
or refute my ID. I will note that I have cropped the photos, and in the
field I was using variable shutter speeds to try and cut down on the
brightness of some of the photos. Anyways, the pictures can be seen at:

http://home1.gte.net/floresnw/semipalmated_sandpiper_page.htm

I left the pictures kind of big so they don't lose the small bit of
integrity that they hold. Thanks for any input!


Good Migrations,

Houston Flores
Sammamish, WA
houstonflores AT hotmail.com
Llama Lake Website: http://home1.gte.net/floresnw/llama_lake.htm

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