| Common Name | Marbled Godwit |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Limosa fedoa |
| Type of Report | Rare Species |
| Date of Observation | 09/02/2018 |
| Media | |
| Number Observed | 1 |
| Reporting Observer's Name | Graham Rice |
| Mailing Address | 93 Juniper Drive South Burlington, VT 05403 United States Map It |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Date Completed | 11/10/2018 |
| Names & Emails of Other Contributing Observers | None, I was alone. |
| Latitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 45.0069272 |
| Longitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | -73.14421 |
| Place Name | Missisquoi NWR--Mouth of River / Tip of delta |
| Township | Highgate |
| County | Franklin |
| Vermont eBird Checklist URL | ebird.org |
| Time of Day | 01:00 PM |
| Length of Time Observed | 5-10 minutes |
| Maximum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 200 |
| Minimum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 100 |
| Noteworthy Weather Conditions | Pleasant, partly cloudy, 70s. |
| Optical Equipment Used for Observation | Zeiss 8x42 Conquest binoculars. |
| Observer’s Previous Acquaintance With This or Similar Species | None. |
| I certify that any attachments included with this report were captured during this observation event. | |
| Description of Habitat | Eastmost mouth of Missisquoi. Seen from river from paddleboard. MAGO was in mouth of Bay tucked in behind marsh reeds in shallow water / mudflat with a variety of ducks, but no other shorebirds. |
| Behaviors Observed | It was standing still, not foraging. The wind was blowing me towards it, and eventually I spooked the surrounding ducks (even at a considerable distance), which also spooked put up the MAGO. It circled around to land briefly in the same spot, then got spooked again and flew West out of sight. I tried to stay at a safe distance, and I thought I did, but it was challenging with the wind blowing and managing the optics. But I think it was spooked mostly due to surrounding ducks. If the ducks weren't there, I think I was far enough away to not flush it, assuming it behaves like other shorebirds more or less. |
| Description of Vocalizations | None. |
| Verbal Narrative & Description of Observation | I think the pictures do 100% of the talking, but my impressions were: - Large shorebird Was lucky to see it stationary and in flight with decent pictures. |
| Relative Size & Shape | Large shorebird. |
| Feet & Bill | Long upturned (godwit) bill. |
| Wings | Clean cinnamon coloring under wing. |
| Breast, Belly, Flanks, Under Tail Coverts | Mostly uniform cinnamon coloring on breast and underparts. |
| IMPORTANT: What similar species were eliminated when making the identification and how was this bird different? | Due to the bill and relative size to nearby ducks, it could be narrowed down to four godwits. And really the only godwit with this clean, cinnamon under the wing is a MAGO, so I think that does it. You can rule out HUGO because no black under wing. And I believe the lack of black coloring on tail rules out the other two godwits. |
| This report was written from notes taken: | Written from Memory |
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