Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Black Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Grey Plover
Hudsonian Whimbrel
Willets
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitchers
Least Sandpiper
Surfbird
Black Turnstone
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
California - November 2009
Waders / Shorebirds: page 5
The best opportunity to study Wilson's Snipe was at La Merced where numerous birds could be seen feeding right along the edge of the main track. It was however a different matter in photographing these birds as they would simply fly off the minute I positioned the car to get a clear view. The above is a heavy crop of one of several on a muddy island whilst the bird below is a very nearly shot, with the tail just bent away from me.
On the bird above note the bold pale creamy-white stripes along the back giving an almost Jack Snipe feel to it, the whitish under-parts with bold dark, contrasting barring.
Not seen that often but also not uncommon Spotted Sandpiper was perhaps most abundant at Morro Bay where this tame individual was photographed at the Marina. Note the bold wing-covert barring, white bordered by black, the plain unmarked tertials, the largely pale bill and the bright yellow legs.
In the change of view of the image and below remnant dark spots can be seen on the under-tail coverts and along with the plain and uniform upper-parts indicate that this is a a non-breeding adult rather than a juvenile/1st-winter.