This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the long-billed dowitcher.
Spring migration, one of the amazing phenomena of migratory birds, provides opportunities for us to observe birds that we don’t usually get to see. Oftentimes the chances are fleeting and birds are here today and gone tomorrow. Many travel under the cover of night and drop down early in the morning to rest and feed during the day before moving on.
The long-billed dowitcher is one of these migrants to be on the look-out for now. In spring they travel from wintering grounds found along the Pacific and Gulf coasts and in Mexico to breeding grounds in eastern Russia, northern Alaska and extreme northwestern Canada. In fall they make the trip in reverse.
These medium-sized shorebirds appear front-heavy and have long bills. In breeding plumage, they are cinnamon-colored below and patterned brown on the back. They have a long, pale eyebrow and in flight show a white triangular patch above the tail. Fall birds and juveniles are grayish. Short-billed dowitchers are very similar in appearance, but more likely to be found in saltwater habitats.
Long-billed dowitchers probe deeply with their bills into wet mud or sand to capture insects and aquatic invertebrates. They prefer to feed in freshwater areas where the water is less than 3 inches deep. Like those of other sandpipers, the tips of their bills have many tactile receptors and they locate their buried food by touch. Characteristically, they pump their heads in a sewing machine fashion and communicate with each other in twittering calls while feeding.
Take a moment to be amazed when you spot one of these birds here. They nest in some of the most remote parts of the planet, guided along the way by means still not completely understood. Soon after chicks hatch, the female leaves the nest. The male stays behind to guard the chicks until they fledge in 20-30 days, but it’s up to them to find their own food.
When it’s time to head south, females migrate first, then males, and finally the juveniles on their own, which somehow make it to a place they’ve never been before. It’s all a part of the magic of migration.
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