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BIRD BEHAVIOR
Yellowlegs Migration
 | | Greater Yellowlegs |
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 | | Lesser Yellowlegs |
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Did you ever think that August was one of the really slow times of the year for birds? It seems to be so quiet. Most birds have finished breeding and many are in one of their most secretive months as they undergo their major molt of the year prior to migrating in fall.
Well, take heart, for some fascinating migration actually started to happen in July and is continuing in full force through August. This is the migration of shorebirds.
In early spring, most of our shorebirds migrate up to the Arctic, where they breed. Breeding happens quickly and they start on their southward migration sometimes as early as late June.
You can find shorebirds all across North America as they migrate. Many migrate along the coasts, but many also migrate inland and throughout the Midwest. Inland, look for shorebirds in the shallow muddy edges of lakes and marshes. Along the coasts look for them on the seashore and at the edges of shallow saltwater marshes.
Two common and easily recognized shorebirds that migrate on a broad front across North America are the Yellowlegs. These are tall, gray-streaked, graceful shorebirds with one very distinctive trait: True to their name, they have the longest, brightest yellow legs of any of our shorebirds.
There are two species—the Greater Yellowlegs and the Lesser Yellowlegs. They look almost identical except that the Greater is about 30% larger. When you see just one it is hard to tell whether it is a Lesser or Greater for there is no comparison. However, one useful clue is to use the comparative proportions of the length of their bill to the length of their head. In the Greater Yellowlegs, the bill is about 1 1/2 times the length of the head; in the Lesser Yellowlegs, the bill is about the same as length of the head.
So go outside now and start your birding before the Fall by looking for all of the migrating shorebirds in your area, and especially the conspicuous Yellowlegs.
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