Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A few godwits

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]
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.
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).

1 comment:

  1. 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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