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This Snipe-like shorebird can be found during
its Winter migration resting in freshwater marshes, mudflats and irrigated
farm fields of the Imperial Valley.
Unit One of the "Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge" (at the end of Vandel Road) is a great place to find them foraging for food in the shallow ponds there. An observation blind allows you to get close to this shy shorebird. Similar to, although much smaller than, the Long-Billed Curlew and Marbled Godwit. It also looks like the Common Snipe, but it would be unusual to see snipes flocking together here like the dowitchers. |
If you are interested in learning more about this bird online - I recommend you start with the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.htmlThey present photographs, songs, identification tips, maps, and life history information for North American birds - including the Long-Billed Dowitcher
OTHER OUTSIDE LINKS FOR THIS BIRD:
Resting Flock - Excellent photo by Mike Patterson on the "Shorebird Photo Guide" page of the Astoria School District's Field Studies Program in Oregon, where students explore the Columbia River Estuary as part of their science studies.
Dowitchers - The "Wildlife of the Suisun Marsh" Web site has an interim report that profiles both Long-Billed and Short-Billed Dowitchers.
This site is maintained by:
Eldon R. Caldwell
Imperial Valley College
Email: eldonc@imperial.cc.ca.us
