Shorebird sleuthing!

Ok I came across a series of digital photos I took 4 years ago in Hawaii, in a little subfolder I had named "godwit". I remember spotting this bird on a grassy lawn by the beach, and determining that it was a godwit of some type, but the distance was too great for a sure ID and a private fence barred closer approach. I also remember spotting some smaller shorebirds in the same field, which I figured were too small and distant to bother with ID as I focused on the mystery godwit.

Stumbling across these 4 year old photos, I think it's probably a Marbled Godwit (which I believe is a decent find on Oahu), but I just noticed another shorebird in all the same shots, feeding near the godwit. Judging from the photos it looks like a large Pluvialis plover, which I assume is a non-breeding plumaged PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER. Actually a much more common bird in Hawaii than MAGO, Pacific Goldens are said to be the most numerous shorebird on the Hawaiian islands. Over-wintering birds are supposedly ubiquitous throughout the islands, even on suburban lawns, and a few stay through the summer.

Well I guess since I remember seeing and identifying distant birds as "godwit" and "smaller shorebird species", I can claim to have seen Pacific Golden Plover

Here are the crappy photos, including originals and photoshop-enlarged zooms showing the presumed Marbled Godwit and Pacific Golden-Plover - digiscoped with a Canon A40 handheld to a Kowa 82mm 32x wide-angle scope. June 2004.

some old Hawaii pics

Found some old pics from Oahu, Hawaii while rumaging around through my old photo CDs. I took these in June 2004 with a Canon Powershot A40, except for the underwater shots taken with a waterproof disposable.

Colorado Photos

Here are some various pics I took in the summer/fall of 2006 in Colorado. Several from Rocky Mountain National Park, Pawnee National Grassland, and elsewhere in the state.

Nebraska photography

Here are some various photos I took in the fall of 2006 from west Nebraska (Chase, Perkins, and Keith Counties):

Western South Dakota

Here are some pics, mostly scenics, that I took in late June-July 2006 in the Black Hills and prairies of west South Dakota.

Big Horn Mountains

Some scenic shots I took July 2006 in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. It is a land of amazing beauty and quite different in scenery, flora, and fauna from the mountains I visited in the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Rockies of Colorado. More spruce/fir trees and my first ever wild Moose sightings!

West Texas Bugs

Photos from Big Bend National Park, 8-10 November 2006:

White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)
Tailed Orange (Pyrisitia proterpia)
West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)