I went to Crex Meadows last week, near Grantsburg, Wisconsin. It was overcast and grey–not good lighting for shooting. I ended up deleting most of my shots, but there were a few worth hanging on to.
This is a Spotted Sandpiper. Where are the spots, you ask? What have you been drinking, I reply–the spots are right there in front of you! OK, I guess not. Actually, this is a Spotted Sandpiper in winter plumage. They only have spots when they’re breeding. I guess spots are sexy if you’re a Sandpiper:
I’m not entirely sure what species of Sandpiper this is. Many of them look quite similar. I suspect it is a Lesser Yellowlegs, however. Of course, now you’re going to look at the picture and tell me the legs are not yellow. You might even cleverly suggest this is because the bird is not in its breeding plumage. You’d be wrong. In this case, the bird’s legs are not yellow, because they’re muddy. Or maybe the bird is in disguise? Who knows:
Now this bird–this bird has yellow legs. Therefore, you probably think it’s a Lesser Yellowlegs. You’d be wrong again (you’re having a hard day today, aren’t you?). This is actually a Greater Yellowlegs. Greater than what? Why, Greater than the Lessers, of course. You can tell it’s a Greater Yellowlegs, because the bill is noticeably longer than the head, and is slightly curved up:
Now watch. Someone with more experience identifying Sandpipers will post, and it will turn out I’ve failed miserably at identification. Sandpipers are confusing, so it’s possible I’ve got it wrong. That happens sometimes!
In any case, I took nothing but pictures while I was out there, and left nothing but footprints. Or are you supposed to take nothing but footprints and leave nothing but pictures? After trying to id Sandpipers, my head was spinning a little. Just to be on the safe side, I took pictures of footprints:
