Dowitcher redux

The Long-billed Dowitcher has now been here for at least three days. I posted some pictures a few days ago: Long-billed Dowitcher, but went back with Cynthia to see it again. Recall, it is mid-migration; it came from the arctic coast and will soon continue south, probably to Mexico. It still has a long way to go. Stopping here, it has spent all of its time just feeding. By Monday (Oct. 7) the bird had gone.

For days, this bird persistently thrust its long bill deep into the muddy floor of a shallow freshwater pond. The pond depth was often 2 to 8 cm, which is ideal for its feeding. The tip of a Long-billed Dowitcher’s bill has receptors that let it locate prey by touch. Seen here, it is sucking some prey up its long bill. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

Generally, it eats larvae of insects with occasional plant matter and seeds. This is probably an insect larva. Photo by Cynthia.

Because its bill often was deep in sandy muck, seeing it bring something up above water happened quickly and rarely.

Here it took a short break to fluff its feathers. Photo by Cynthia.

Three days of steady eating has made it fatter. This picture shows the dowitcher and its clear reflection in shallow water.