Semipalmated Sandpipers, a siZe comparison was easy. ‘In one instance, a »'_ Semipalmated Sandpiper in the same field of view almost circled the bird in, question. The bird in question was the smaller and appeared to be smaller than the others feeding nearby. -. ' _

_ To determine the species of bird, I made some notes at the time to. . g -compare with references. Th possibilities among the small Calidris sandpipers _are the Semipalmated, Western, and Least Sandpipers as well as the_Little, ‘ Rufous-necked, Long-teed, and Temminck's stints- All of the stints would be very unlikely; The bird in question had an obvious long and curved bill and dark legs thus ruling out the Least Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, and Temminck's stint. The scapular pattern, the crown and ear covert colOuration, and the obvious flank markings all seem to indicate that the bird was a Western Sandpiper in breeding plumage. The main problems seemed to be my observation

'. of the birds size and a conclusibn that the bird was in breeding plumage

(definitive alternate). Veit and JonsSon.state that birds outside their usual range are most likely to molt in a peculiar pattern and it is felt that most shorebirds finish molting after reaching their wintering grounds. Western Sandpipers are the largest of the possible birds and-initially I felt that the bird in queStion was an aberrant Semipalmated Sandpiper as I had such a good size comparison which seemed to preclude the possibility of it being-a Western ‘ Sandpiper. On reviewing my notes and available references, I_became convinced that this bird was a Western Sandpiper. In Godfrey's Birds of Canada there is a table comparing various measurements of Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers which shOws an overlap in size between female Semipalmated and male Western Sandpipers. This was also the finding in a paper by Ralph Carter (1984) who had used study skins and collected specimens. Taking everything.into . consideration, the bird seems to have been a Western Sandpiper; I References: * m . ' .g - . -* Carter, Ralph V. A morphometric comparison of Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Wilson Bull. 96: 277-286. . I Godfrey, Earl._ 1986. Birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa. Hayman, Peter, John Marchant, and Tony Prater. 1986. Shorebirds, an Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. ,Kauffman, Ken. 1990.~ A Field Guide to Advanced Birding.‘ Houghton Mifflin ‘ Company, Boston. _ . Veit, Richard R. and Lars Jonsson. 1987. Field Identification of smaller ' Sandpipers within the Genus Calidris. American Birds 41: 213-237. ‘Zimmer, Kevin J. .1985.' The Western Birdwatcher: An introduction to birding ’ in the American'West. Prentice-Hall, Inc.. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. ‘ .

ANIMAL AND PLANT SIGHTINGS

Snonleas-covered water‘filled foot tracks at Cavendish on October 23 (JDM) Red maple leaves started changing colour in low,areas-in mid-September. Full broad-leaved deciduous colour developed by late September. Leaves stayed on the trees for a prolonged period until October_16th in central P.E.I. Larch ‘leaves changed colour on October 23 -25 in Donagh.

Eastern.Chipmunks - 6 coming to door for peanuts at Indian River in late September; 1 at Donagh feeder throughout September & October (JDM)

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