Greetings Again

There were 7 typical Marbled Godwits that moved between the 3 Crabs and the
"Oysterhouse" -- now a county park the name of which eludes me. With them was
one very peculiar godwit. Below is a description, mainly because I am hoping
someone who decides to venture out that way can get a decent photo, which we
were not able to do.

There were several striking features
1) small size. At times appearing nearly size of Marbled Godwit (henceforth
MAGO), at times appearing virtually intermediate between MAGO and dowitchers.

2) slim shape, though bill and legs seemed proportionately similar to those
of MAGO

3) pale underparts. The vent and belly were white, with a grayish uppermost
belly, chest, and throat-- perhaps a vague buffy wash, but very weak. Some
streaking on chest sides perhaps extending to center of breast. Pale MAGO I've
seen in past have not shown a pattern like this. Generally they've seemed more
uniformly pale, or if the breast is a bit darker, it is buff not gray with
streaking.

4) back plumage distinctly worn. Mixture of browns, grays, and whitish marks.
Some of these markings appeared linear, as is seen in Bar-tailed Godwit but
not normally in MAGO.

5) long primary extension. The primaries extended past the tertials beyond
what is normal for MAGO, though I've seen occasional MAGO that have appeared
this way.

So at this point, one might ask, why wasn't it a Bar-tailed Godwit
(henceforth BTGO).
The BIG answer is the buffy-orange underwing coverts. Also, the supercilium
was very weak for a BTGO, though a tad stronger than the MAGOs it was with
(definitely well within range for MAGO and more typical for that species than
BTGO).

In my twisted mind, I am wondering about a hybrid. But such ponderings are
nearly worthless without good photos. So, if you are out there and run into some
godwits.....

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA
SGMlod at aol.com