transverse scutes like those seen on the front of the tarsus of both species while in the Eskimo Curlew, the rear surface is covered with small round scales.

The first four criteria described for identifying Little Curlews are fulfilled in the Covehead curlew. The bill appeared to be all dark and, as a result, criteria 5 is of no help. It is possible that lack of colour may have been due to the lighting conditions, a dirty or discoloured bill, or perhaps a failure on our part to note it. Criteria 6 is useful only at extremely close range and was also of no help in determining the identity of this bird. Vocalizations might also have been of help in identifying the Curlew (Boswall and Veprintser, 1985) but the Covehead Marsh curlew was silent.

The Little Curlew breeds in Siberia and winters primarily in Australia and New Guinea. This species has been recorded only once in North America. From mid-September to mid-October, 1984, a juvenile Little Curlew was extensively observed in the Santa Maria Valley in California (Lehman and Dunn, 1985). other vagrants include individuals in Wales (1982), Norway (1969), Kazakhstan (Sept. 1978), Seychelles (Oct. 1972—73), and Hong Kong (Hayman at al., 1986. ‘

Although the Little Curlew is highly migratory, this scarcity of vagrant sightings seems to suggest that it is not prone to wandering. Consequently, its occurrence in eastern Canada would be unprecedented.

Literature Cited:

Boswall, J. and B.N. Veprintser. 1985. "Keys to identifying Little Curlew." American Birds 39: 251-254.

Farrand, J., Jr. 1977. "What to look for: Eskimo and Little Curlews compared." American Birds 31:137-138.

Godfrey, W.E. 1954. Birds of Prince Edward Island. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 132, pp. 155-213.

Hayman, P. J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston. 412 pp.

Lehman, P. and J.L. Dunn. 1985. "A little know species reaches North America." American Birds 39: 247-250.

Moon, S.J. 1983. "Little Whimbrel: new to Britain and Ireland." British Birds 76: 438-445.

NEWS FROM ABOUT

A special thanks to all the Piping Plover Guardians who monitored nesting beaches this past summer in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Neil and Sally Bennett, who spend their summers at Cousins Shore, took the initiative to distribute a flyer to people visiting the Cousins shore Piping Plover nesting area. This flyer provided information on the nesting site and the things visitors could do to help the Piping Plover.

Congratulations go out to Diane Griffin for winning the prestigious Douglas Pimlott Award from the Canadian Nature Federation. This is the foremost award for naturalists in Canada and it further affirms the outstanding contributions Diane has made to our Canadian environment.

The November December issue of Ducks Unlimited carries an interesting article on wetland creation (The promise and perils of wetland creation by Kathleen Rude) which is good reading for those interested in wetlands creation. A useful reference which she cites is Wetland Creation and

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