Sandpiper ID Help

The best I can tell from my bird book this little fellow is a Solitary Sandpiper but according to that same book his range is from Alaska to Eastern Canada and I am in Northwest Arkansas. The Spotted Sandpiper ranges much farther south, all the way down to NW Arkansas so I guess that could be what I saw but the markings make me think Solitary Sandpiper. Can anyone verify what I have seen.

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Looks to be a very young Lesser Yellowlegs. Nice shots!

NH

Nighthound wrote in post #5474229
Looks to be a very young Lesser Yellowlegs. Nice shots!

NH

Hey Steve, I'm not as good with shorebirds as I am with songbirds, but I'm leaning toward juvenile Solitary Sandpiper here because of the greenish yellow legs, mostly brown back with white spots and slight downturn of the bill. Is there something that makes you more aligned with Lesser Yellowlegs?

Nice shots, btw!

Carl, I'm going to stand corrected. I've seen some young Lesser's with legs that were not vividly yellow so I jumped a bit early to the wrong conclusion. Thanks for pointing that out. If I ever need a field guide, you're my guy, you're sharp.

NH

Carl & Steve, thanks for looking and for the help.

Do you know if these birds migrate south? My bird book just showed their range to be north of the continential US but did not show any wintering areas. This little fellow was a long way from home.

Joe, these birds winter in Central and South America. In the warmer months they migrate to the far north to breed in the forests of Canada and Alaska. So I would think early spring and late fall would give you the best chance for sightings in TX.


NH

Thanks Steve. I figured that they wintered somewhere but my bird book doesn't show any wintering ranges for any birds other than northern Mexico and the description doesn't mention wintering ranges so I had no idea. I am glad he stopped off in Arkansas. That was my first and only sighting of this bird.