BIRDING HOTSPOT: TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

   This past Thursday and Saturday we birded at Tigertail Beach on Marco Island.  It turned out to be a great hotspot for shorebirds, particularly migrating ones.  In addition we sighted waders, gulls, pelicans and raptors.  The photos of these individual species have been posted on the blog.  Here are a series of photos showing the multitude of shorebirds and other birds at Tigertail Beach.

ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

   Here is a flock of Roseate Sponbills.  They were quite distant on the far shore.

NONBREEDING LESSER YELLOWLEGS, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

   We were able to I.D. this Yellowlegs as a Lesser Yellowlegs, rather than a Greater Yellowlegs by the length of the bill compared to the size of the head.  The Lesser Yellowlegs' bill is about equal to its head width, while the bill length of the Greater Yellowlegs is about 1 1/2 times the head width.  You can see in the first photo, which is a profile shot, that the bill length and head width are about the same.

OSPREY IN FLIGHT, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

NONBREEDING BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

   We differentiated this Black-bellied Plover from the American Golden-Plover, which is very similar as follows:

• The pale cap, rather than the dark cap of the American Golden-Plover.
• The white belly, rather than the gray belly of the American Golden-Plover.

    You can still see some of the black on the belly from the plover's breeding plumage.

NONBREEDING LEAST SANDPIPER, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

      We identified this "peep" (very small sandpipers) as a Least Sandpiper as follows:

• Small size
• The dull greenish legs; the other peeps have black legs.

   The Least Sandpiper is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 241.

WOOD STORK IN FLIGHT, TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL