Dunlin and Western Sandpiper: October 4, 2022

Soon after reaching the Esquimalt Lagoon we spoke to a woman with a large camera, always a good sign, who told us there were Dunlins and Western Sandpipers further along.  "I hope I recognize them," I said.  "Oh, you will," she replied, much more sure of my skills than I was.  Maybe she was deceived by my camera.  Not as big as hers, but still fairly large. 

The Dunlin is a small sandpiper characterized by a black belly in the summer.  I've always wanted to see one because I had this idea that with that black belly it would be instantly recognizable.

So the first Dunlin of our lives we see in October with nary a black belly in sight.  

(Even the Black-bellied Plover down the beach a ways didn't have a black belly.  That's nonbreeding birds for you.)

We did find the Dunlins..

 They were smaller than I expected.  In fact not much bigger than the Western Sandpipers.  

This photo shows a Dunlin on the left, a Western Sandpiper on the right, and the smaller fellow in between is a Least Sandpiper.  You will notice that identifying small shorebirds is about as challenging as identifying gulls. 

To give you an idea just how small these small birds are, here they are with the larger of the three birds with Canada in their name.
 

The Western Sandpiper is one of three birds referred to as peeps.  I might have been less sure of their identity if everyone around me hadn't already identified them.  

And just so you know why I referred to the Dunlins in the plural, here are a few resting.