Western Willet - Tringa semipalmata inornata

"Map and Calendar" often proves helpful when trying to identify a puzzling or atypical bird, a  tip I first learned from Mark Pretti. So when I photographed some Willets in April on Florida's Gulf Coast (Tarpon Springs/Ft De Soto) I made the natural assumption that the birds must be Eastern Willets, a Willet subspecies we often see on summer visits to East Haven, CT. My recent posting included 3 different Willets (last 3 photos below). They were not as "ornate" as I would have expected, but that wasn't enough to make me dig deeper.

Well, thanks to Dan Singer, who many of you know as a highly experienced bay area birder now residing in Marin, I get a chance to correct my mis-identifications. Here's what a breeding plumage Eastern Willet should look like, from a July visit to Hammonasset State Beach. Take note of the bill length, shape, thickness and color, and read on:

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Dan was kind enough to send me a careful analysis of the Willet shown below, whichI had called "Eastern".

"I believe these willets are all Western Willets. The first one is the easiest and the one I’m most certain of."

"The distinction between the two subspecies can be subtle. Using a combination of characters is best, but on the first bird bill shape, length, and pattern are enough to identify this one as Western. Eastern has a shorter bill that looks proportionately thicker at the base, giving it a more conical shape, the bill usually looks more two-toned with the basal half often looking pinkish, and the bill often shows a slight droop distally."

Continuing, Dan wrote:

"The second two birds are more problematic to evaluate, and the second bird in particular doesn’t look very long-billed like Western. However, everything else about bill shape and color seems fine for  Western."

Further:

"The third bird also looks like it has a rather short bill, but the angle of view is probably affecting perception. Otherwise the bill looks typical of most Westerns."    (Photographer's note - Dan is correct about the distortion, as when a subject is partially looking towards the camera we get something called "fore-shortening", i.e. the bill is actually longer than the photo would suggest).

 

Dan concluded with critical remarks regarding "map and calendar" for the Willet subspecies:

Note the last two birds show very worn wing coverts, which suggests these birds are in their second year (born last year). Eastern Willet winters south of the US and many/most second year birds don’t migrate north in the spring, but instead spend their first breeding season on the winter grounds. Western Willet winters along the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts - just to make things confusing for us birders - so seeing birds with heavily worn coverts is not unusual.