The Occurrence and Identification of Red-necked Stint in British Columbia
(Revised: December 3, 2013)
by Rick Toochin
Read the full article with photos/figures here
Introduction
The first confirmed report of a Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) in British Columbia was an adult in full breeding plumage found on June 24, 1978 at Iona Island (see Table 1, confirmed records item 1). Recently another older sighting has been uncovered that fits the timing of occurrence for this species in BC and may be valid (see Table 2, hypothetical records item 1). Since the first initial sightings in the late 1970s, there has been a slow but steady increase in observations of this beautiful Asian shorebird in British Columbia and, indeed, across the whole of North America. With an increase in both observer coverage and the knowledge of observers, this species is now known to be of regular, and probably annual, occurrence during fall migration in coastal British Columbia. Additionally, this species is now recorded occasionally during spring migration, indicating that at least a few individuals may be successfully wintering farther south in the western hemisphere.
Identification of this species is straightforward when presented with a full breeding-plumaged adult, but identification of birds in juvenile and faded breeding plumage can be very complicated due to the close similarities to other small Calidris shorebirds. This paper describes the distribution and occurrence of the species in B.C., and also examines the similarities of all plumages of Red-necked Stint to species with which it might be confused, most notably Little Stint (C. minuta), Semipalmated Sandpiper (C. pusilla), and Western Sandpiper (C. mauri). It is hoped that the discussions presented here will fuel further interest in this species among birders in British Columbia and hopefully allow more people to be fortunate enough to lay eyes on this elusive shorebird gem.
Occurrence and Documentation
The Red-necked Stint in British Columbia is primarily a bird of fall migration along the coast, with the majority of records concentrated around the shorebird meccas of the lower Fraser River Valley. Elsewhere along the coast, fall records have come from the Queen Charlotte Islands, southern Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands. This species is much rarer in spring, although a couple of spring records exist for the lower Fraser River Valley and one for eastern Vancouver Island. Although no records exist, it could potentially also turn up with flocks of migrating peeps anywhere in the interior of the province. Whenever found in British Columbia, this species is invariably found in association with other small Calidris sandpipers, particularly Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers, occurring in habitats such as mudflats, sandy beaches, and sewage ponds. Within these flocks, adult Red-necked Stints are usually very obvious with their extensively red head, although faded adults may require closer scrutiny to pick out. In British Columbia, all but one of the confirmed records of Red-necked Stint are of adult birds in breeding plumage, indicating the relative ease at which this plumage is located and identified compared to juveniles. The single confirmed record of a juvenile bird is of one photographed in late fall at Iona Island near Vancouver. Although unconfirmed, several other credible records of juvenile Red-necked Stint exist for the coast of the province, their status as hypothetical because these records lack of photographic evidence.
Adult Red-necked Stints generally appear with the first waves of adult Western Sandpipers, from late June through July, with the brightest birds found earlier during migration. This time represents the peak of occurrence of the species in B.C., although the difficulty of locating and identifying faded adults and juveniles likely obscures its true status through the remainder of fall migration. Juvenile Red-necked Stints probably associate with migrating juvenile Western Sandpipers, which begins in late July and continues to early October. The three spring records of Red-necked Stint are all in May with returning flocks of adult Western Sandpipers. Two of these spring records were preceded by fall records the previous year, suggesting that either the same birds are involved in both fall and spring or that multiple Red-necked Stints are passing through this region each fall, with the few that survive the winter reappearing the following spring. The latter hypothesis seems much more likely.
Although a great deal of luck is required when searching for Red-necked Stint in B.C., a key to success may be monitoring the major weather systems in the North Pacific from late June through October. Large, fast moving low-pressure systems tracking from the northwest that bring strong winds to the Pacific coast of Canada sometimes bring with them an assortment of unusual long-distance migrants from Alaska and northeastern Siberia, including Red-necked Stint. Low-pressure centres can travel from the Aleutians or the Bering Sea region south to coastal British Columbia within a 24-hour time period. Remnants of typhoons in the western Pacific can also track from the vicinity of Japan to the British Columbia coast within 3 days, possibly influencing bird migration patterns of these strong offshore migrants. The larger and faster-moving the storm is, the better can be the results for overall shorebird numbers and the chances of finding a Red-necked or Little Stint. As an example, a juvenile Little Stint found at the tip of the Iona South Jetty on October 5, 1999 was found immediately following a rapidly moving weather system that moved from Alaska to the south coast of British Columbia in approximately one day (M. Meredith of Environment Canada in Toronto pers. comm.). This type of weather pattern also holds true for finding other rare but regularly occurring Asian shorebird species in British Columbia such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. There is no guarantee that these large low pressure systems will produce these exotic rarities from Asia, but this type of weather does help increase the likelihood of these birds making their way to areas south of Alaska to British Columbia. Being aware of this fact can only help observers search for a Red-necked Stint in their local shorebird spot.
Table 1: British Columbia Records of Red-necked Stint: Confirmed Records:
1. (1) adult breeding plumage June 24-25, 1978: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Campbell et al. 1990)
2. (1) adult breeding plumage July 13-15, 1978: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Campbell et al. 1990)
3. (1) adult breeding plumage August 25-26, 1978: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Campbell et al. 1990)
4. (1) adult breeding plumage July 3-4, 1986: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Campbell et al. 1990)
5. (1) adult breeding plumage June 26-July 5, 1988: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Campbell et al. 1990)
6. (1) adult breeding plumage July 18, 1989: Sidney Island, Victoria (D. Allinson Pers. Comm.)
7. (1) adult breeding plumage June 23-24, 1992: (photo) Sandspit Airport, QCI (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.), (2) adults breeding plumage June 25, 1992: (photo) Sandspit Airport, QCI (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.), (1) adult breeding plumage June 26-28, 1992: (photo) Sandspit Airport, QCI (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.)
8. (2) adults breeding plumage July 13, 1992: 112th Street, Boundary Bay (Dorsey 1996)
9. (1) adult breeding plumage May 20, 1997: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Plath 2000)
10.(1) adult breeding plumage June 19, 1997: Reifel Refuge, Ladner (Plath 2000)
11.(1) adult breeding plumage July 2, 1998: Iona Island, Richmond (Plath 2000)
12.(1) juvenile plumage October 28-November 17, 1999: (photo) Iona Island, Richmond (Bain and Shannon 1999 )
13.(1) adult breeding plumage May 15, 2003: 96th St. @ The Mansion, Boundary Bay, Delta (Bain 2003a)
14.(1) adult breeding plumage August 7, 2003: 104th St., Boundary Bay, Delta (Bain 2003b)
15.(1) adult breeding plumage May 7, 2005: (photo) mouth of Englishman River Estuary, Parksville (G. Monty Pers. Comm.)
16.(1) adult faded breeding plumage July 2, 2005: (photo) Iona Island Sewage Ponds, Richmond (R. Toochin Pers. Comm.)
17.(1) adult faded breeding plumage July 16, 2005: Witty’s Lagoon, Victoria (D. Allinson Pers. Comm.)
18.(1) adult faded breeding plumage August 11, 2006: 104th Street, Boundary Bay (Ilya Povalyaev Pers. Comm.)
19.(1) juvenile August 26, 2011: Nathan Hentze et al (photo) Witty’s Lagoon, Metchosin (N. Hentze Pers. Comm.)
20.(1) adult breeding plumage July 18, 2012: Peter Hamel: Little Spit, Sandspit, QCI (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.)
21.(1) adult breeding faded plumage July 27-29, 2012: Kevin Louth et al (photo) 96th St., Boundary Bay, Delta (Toochin 2012)
22.(1) adult breeding plumage August 4-5, 2013: John Chandler, mobs (photo) west of 104th St., Boundary Bay, Delta (P. Levesque Pers. Comm.)
Table 2: British Columbia Records of Red-necked Stint: Hypothetical Records:
1. (1) adult breeding plumage July 4, 1961: Sea Island, Richmond (J. Toochin Pers. Comm.)
Read the full article with photos/figures here
