a few more Little Stint comments

Here are a few additional tidbits to add to the fine Little Stint "instructions" that Gary posted–from what I can gather from discussion with observers, stopping there today, and my familiarity with this location from past regular checks:

–one can park either at the north end of 8th and walk east or park in the lot at the end of 10th and walk west; both walks are very, very short (as in 30 seconds!);

–the bird was seen along both the east and west sides of the small, narrow island, so perhaps best to pick a viewing spot which allows one to see up both sides of the island;

–this island is used by large numbers of shorebirds (especially Black-bellied Plovers and Red Knots) at high tide, so it might be actually easier to find the bird when the tide starts falling and fewer birds are there; I gather it was also seen both yesterday and today when there were less than a total of 10 peep present, and it was seen mostly in the AM until about mid-day, but less so (or missed altogether) in the PM (?);

–Gary shows a comparison photo of the bird with a Western Sandpiper next to it, but the Western in those shots is a very long-billed individual; there were also shorter-billed Westerns present that have bill lengths almost as short as the Little Stint, so don't rely too heavily on mere bill length for ID; also look at bill shape, split supercilium, longer wing extension, and the contrasty retained wing-coverts vs. the molted plainer gray back.

–Paul Lehman, San Diego
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports