Lesser Yellowlegs "MV"

[Eric DeFonso]

Hi all,

A couple days ago while birding at Stearns Lake in south Boulder County, I spotted a Lesser Yellowlegs with dark green leg bands. The bands were on both legs and the one on the left was "flagged", meaning it had a metal extension with lettering on it. I had trouble reading the tag (yellowlegs do like to walk incessantly), but I gathered that one of the letters was a 'V'.

I looked up 'lesser yellowlegs banding' and found a reference to an ongoing project asking for reports of new sightings of any of their banded birds. I sent a message to the researcher describing what I found. You can find information on the project here:

https://ebird.org/ak/news/reporting-banded-lesser-yellowlegs

I heard back this morning regarding the bird I saw. Apparently a couple other area birders contacted the research group and noted or photographed this individual, and the tag in full was 'MV' (so I was close!). The bird that showed up at Stearns was banded at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Anchorage, Alaska) on June 13, 2019, almost 4 years ago.

What a treat it is to discover just how well traveled our spring visitors are! In addition, last October in central Ecuador in the high Andes I observed a Lesser Yellowlegs at Laguna de Colta in Chimborazo province. This gives us an idea of the sheer extent of their annual journeys. Of course I don't know specifically where 'MV' wintered, but quite possibly in Ecuador or perhaps even further south! Either way, I appreciated being able to observe this rugged beast even if just for a moment in its astonishing life.

Happy migration,

Eric

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Eric DeFonso
Boulder County, CO