{"id":4800,"date":"2014-08-23T15:54:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T21:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/?p=4800"},"modified":"2014-08-23T15:54:38","modified_gmt":"2014-08-23T21:54:38","slug":"more-than-just-a-mudsucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/archives\/4800","title":{"rendered":"More Than Just a Mudsucker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pectoral<\/a>
Pectoral Sandpiper, Barrow, Alaska. This photo was taken as the bird was puffing up its pectoral pouch right before it took off for its flight display. \u00a9 Andrew Spencer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When most birders in North America think of shorebirds, they probably think of little brown and gray birds running around on mudflats. \u00a0Sure, they may also think of large flocks and the joy of picking through lots of common birds to find some coveted rarity. \u00a0Or they may even think of colorful juveniles or breeding adults covered in subtly beautiful patterning. \u00a0Ask them about the voices of shorebirds, and they may think of the challenge of learning shorebirds by call, often considered to be squarely in the realm of advanced birding.<\/p>\n

What most of those same birders probably don’t envision when thinking of shorebirds are the complicated and amazing displays they perform on their arctic breeding grounds. \u00a0What was once a bird that made just a few simple, short chips or churrs suddenly has a large and varied repertoire that includes complicated aerial acrobatics, and sounds as varied as low-pitched hooting to amazingly insect-like twittering. \u00a0The first time I stood out on the tundra in Alaska I was blown away by everything I was seeing and hearing, and I’ve never looked at shorebirds the same way again.<\/p>\n

That’s not to say you have to go to the Arctic to see this amazing show. \u00a0Most shorebirds have breeding displays of one sort or another, even those breeding in the lower 48. \u00a0And some migrant species that breed further north will sing and display (usually half-heartedly) on their way up – the species most likely to do this seem to be yellowlegs and dowitchers. \u00a0But even though you can go to the prairie and watch a Mountain Plover sing while doing a butterfly flight, or see a Long-billed Curlew while it’s traveling in a large, undulating circle over the grasslands while mournfully whistling, they don’t hold quite the same draw as the higher latitude breeding species.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/a>
Red Knot, Nome, Alaska. This bird was giving a few of the calls discussed below, but was not heard to sing. \u00a9 Andrew Spencer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There isn’t nearly enough space here to go into all the different displays and songs from all the different Arctic breeders, so I’ll cover three of my favorites – Red Knot, and Rock and Pectoral Sandpipers. \u00a0Someday I may write another blog post covering some of the others…there’s no shortage of material to draw on!<\/p>\n

I’ll start with Red Knot because perhaps more than any other species it demonstrates how different shorebirds are on their breeding grounds. \u00a0Generally, when migrating or wintering this species is among the quietest of all shorebirds. \u00a0Not that it won’t call, but it seems to do it less often, and more softly, than most species. \u00a0But up on the breeding grounds in Alaska it’s an entirely different beast. \u00a0Not only does it typically breed far from the nearest mudflat (and sometimes nearest open water!), on barren rocky tundra, but it also has some shockingly loud and strident vocalizations! \u00a0Its main song (the first of the recordings below) is given during a prolonged (sometimes >30 min) display flight during which it rises high into the air and moves in a large, slow circle while fluttering its wings shallowly and rapidly. \u00a0It will repeat the same whistle for a long time before suddenly breaking into a different, louder whistle and then returning to the first whistle. \u00a0The second recording below is an entire flight display, lasting three minutes and starting out with a few other calls before it begins singing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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