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) 
     
    
   
   
    
     -12-