Luke's Birding Pages

California Rarities

Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica

August 30, 2003

Spreckels at State Street, Alviso, Santa Clara County, California

Juvenile

        This bird was found by Dean Manley on August 27, 2003.  Mark Eaton, Kevin McKereghan and I tried for it the morning of August 30, departing San Francisco under deep fog cover.  Alviso had a high overcast, and there were birds and birders present when we arrived at about 7:15 am.  John Luther, Les and Cindy Leiurance, Ed Greaves and others were already on the godwit, which was feeding at an island about 75 yards from us.  The visibility was not great, with the distance and the lack of light, but we could make out the key field marks, particularly when the bird would lift a wing to preen or move its folded wings off its tail.  We watched it feed, preen and sleep from about 7:15 to 8:30 a.m.  My digiscope photos are horrendous -- they were shot at 1/4 to 1/8 of a second, at about 55x through my scope.  Ugh.  Joe Morlan managed some better shots on August 29 that show the features I discuss here much more clearly.

Description

        This description is adapted from my notes and sketches, taken while while watching the bird. (My original field notes are below).

        About as tall, but much stockier, as the Greater Yellowlegs next to it.  Looked like a dowitcher on steroids.  The face was white with a dark eyeline.  There was a gray wash to the throat, which was relatively distinctly demarcated from the gray-buff belly, which was lighter than the throat (see left photo, above).  It had a prominent white supercilium, and sometimes when it tucked its head the supercilium appeared broken directly above the eye.  Overall gray-buff to upperparts, with black "polka-dots" (thanks, Kevin) on the scapulars and some coverts.  The scapulars and some coverts (lesser and median?) had dark tips (the dots), with a buffy bar above the tips, and dark veins.  From the distance I was at, I did not see the buffy tips or edges to these feathers, which I expected to see; I dont know if they were there and I couldnt see them, or if they were already worn off (the former is the better bet).  The belly was gray-buff [although this may have been an artifact of the very poor light and overcast day, as the photos on Morlan's webpage show brighter white underparts], with several black flecks in the flanks.  The vent area was much brighter white, which wrapped around up into the flanks (see right hand photo, above) and up over the tail, making a broad white band on the tail.  The white flanks/vent contrasted with the buff-gray of the rest of the underparts.  The white tail band was visible when the bird was preening, and occasionally when the bird was walking (see middle photo, above).  In very brief looks as the bird was preening and lifted its wings, the dark underwing coverts and axillaries were visible.  The bill appeared mostly dark distally, light (pink?) in the basal third.

Discussion

        The overall buff-gray coloration and the scapular and covert pattern of black tips with buffy notches or bars indicates juvenal plumage.  The dark underwing coverts and axillaries eliminate all other godwits, which have buffy (Marbled) or white (Black-tailed, Bar-tailed) underwing coverts and axillaries.

        A second Hudsonian Godwit was found in the same vicinity later on August 30 by John Luther.

Previous California Records

        This is the third record of Hudsonian Godwit for Santa Clara County, and the second for Alviso.  There are 18 accepted records of Hudsonian Godwit for California (as well as 2 rejected records and one record not submitted to the CBRC).  Most fall records are of juvenile birds.

        1. 9-10 Aug 1973 Humboldt Bay HUM (adult)

        2. 9 May 1975 Daggett SBE 

        3. 9-19 May 1980 Piute Ponds LA 

        4. 17-20 May 1983 Arcata HUM 

        5. 30-31 Aug 1983 E. of Merced NWR MER 

        6. 28 Aug 1988 Carmel R. mouth MTY and 4 Sep-3 Oct 1988 Salinas R. mouth MTY (juvenile) 

        7. 5-16 Sep 1988 San Nicolas I. VEN (juvenile)

        8. 22 May 1990 s. end Salton Sea (Red Hill) IMP 

        9. 1-24 Sep 1990 Sunnyvale SCL  (juvenile)

        10. 29 Aug 1991 Crescent City DN (juvenile)

        11. 6-21 Sep 1991 Mad R. estuary HUM (juvenile)

        12. 31 May 1993 Lower Klamath NWR SIS

        13. 8-9 Aug 1993 Pt. Reyes NS (Horseshoe Pond) MRN (juvenile) 

        14. 16 Sep 1995 Mystic L. RIV (juvenile)

        15.  9-10 Sep 1997 Eel River Wildlife Area HUM (juvenile) 

        16.  17-19 Sep 1999 Eel River Wildlife Area HUM (juvenile) 

        17.  26-31 May 2000 Alviso SCL (second year)

        18.  14 Oct 2000 near Goose Lake MOD (juvenile)

Photographs © Luke W. Cole

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