Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), Arlington Valley Sludge Pond, Maricopa County

This juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher was discovered by Kurt Radamaker and Dave Powell at some sludge ponds in the Arlington Valley on 23 August 2008.  It was photographed by Kurt Radamaker on 23 August 2008

Short-billed Dowitcher is a rare spring and uncommon fall transient in Maricopa County. 

Adult Dowitchers can be difficult to separate, but juveniles are fairly straightforward.  Juvenile Long-billed is a fairly dull gray-buff bird resembling a slightly buffier version of winter adult.  Juvenile Short-billed is a typical juvenile shorebird - bright buffy and crisp looking with strong contrasting feather edgings of rufous, black and buff on the back and crown feathers.  The most definitive mark is the pattern of the long tertial feathers that overlay the primaries.  These are plain dark gray on juvenile Long-billed, but patterned with irregular bars and stripes in Short-billed. 

23 August 2008, photo by Kurt Radamaker

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