Hudsonian Godwits – A Rare Visitor to Colorado
| 5 imagesA couple of days ago, while trying to get some photos of the American Avocets…a bird that is apparently fairly common here, but one which I had never seen nor photographed before, I had a chance encounter with an even rarer find: Hudsonian Godwits. Another shorebird, the Hudsonian Godwit is usually only migrate via a fairly narrow channel along the eastern sides of the states Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, as well as along some of the coasts in the north east. Every so often their migratory range might expand, reaching into the eastern planes of Colorado, as well as extending east and south as far as Florida. There had been a rumor of a lone Hudsonian Godwit at Cherry Creek…however I managed to capture a few photos that I believe show two females in breeding plumage. The longish, slightly upturned bill, paler and pinkish at the face, with light brown striping on their breast and darker mottled pattern on their wings.
I went back the next day to see if I could get some better shots, as at the time I wasn’t sure what I’d photographed. I looked all over the park for these two rarities, however was unable to find them anywhere. They may still be around, they may have continued their migration. Either way, I’m happy to have seen a couple of the more uncommon shorebird visitors to Colorado! 🙂 (BTW, sorry for the quality of the photos…I was no where near enough to get any good shots when I noticed these two birds…just snapped a few so I could ID them later on. By the time I managed to crawl up closer, they had moved off quite a ways down the shore, one of the Cherry Creek deltas, and in trying to reach them I’d have had to scare off all the other birds that were around.)
Nature Photography 
Terrific shots of these amazing birds!
Thanks for posting these photos, we saw Hudsonian Godwit in another part of Cherry Creek State Park within a day of your photos, seeing your pics helped me re-identify the bird I’d seen. Every characteristic I picked out that day that differentiates it from Marbled Godwit is present in your photos.
Dan
Thanks, Dan! I’m glad I was able to help verify an ID. Sometimes it can be tough, especially if the birds are shaded, and you cant get a clear view of their patterns or colors. I’m pretty excited to have seen a rare shorebird like that. I’ve been into bird photography for a little over a year, and this spring has been awesome…I’ve seen dozens of bird species I’d never encountered before.
To make sure I was good on my skills…Marbled Godwit’s are more peach/buff colored, richer in color overall? The Hudsonian Godwit seemed rather pale and drab in comparison, at least for the photos and illustrations I used to make the ID. Thanks again!