Godwits are passing through NW Ontario this week. On May 28, Greg Stroud found a
Marbled and
Hudsonian Godwit together, gorging on earthworms on a flooded ball diamond in the town of Nipigon. I had a chance to observe the pair yesterday (May 29th). It was a real treat to be able to compare the two species in breeding plumage, at close range.
[click on images to enlarge]
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Town of Nipigon. May 29, 2012. |
Yesterday (again, May 29th) I found a lone
Hudsonian Godwit at Penn Lake Park in the Town of Marathon.
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Town of Marathon. May 29, 2012. |
The
Checklist of the Birds of Thunder Bay District lists
Hudsonian Godwit as a casual species (reported in three to seven of the last ten years).
Very nice to see these handsome birds together. I've never seen either of them here in Southeastern/South central Minnesota, but we saw Marbled Godwits by the hundreds in northern California in late winter several years ago. I suppose that becomes old hat after a while, but it sure didn't to us.
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