Let’s stretch our mathematical muscles this month:

You encounter a flock of exactly 100 small sandpipers; careful inspection proves that they are all of the same species. On a whim, you count the toes, coming up with an absolutely accurate total of 602. What is the species?

Leave your answer as a comment below. The best correct answer and the wittiest incorrect answer will win their authors a WINGS cap.

We asked:

What is the connection between Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, and Napoleon?

We’d expected the Californians to jump on this one.

Both the Modesto Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia mailliardi and the Bicolored Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus mailliardorum are West Coast subspecies named for California’s Mailliard brothers (in the case of the sparrow, for Joseph Mailliard alone). Joseph and John were well-known collectors in the early twentieth century.

Their grandfather, Louis Mailliard, and their father, Adolphe Mailliard, both served as secretary to Joseph Bonaparte, oldest brother of Napoleon and erstwhile King of Spain.

Watch for our new trivia question–this time something mathematical–in the forthcoming October e-newsletter! The winner will earn a WINGS cap and the unbounded admiration of the worldwide birding community.

Paul Lehman looks back on a spectacular fall at Gambell:

I am now back home in San Diego, but Luke DeCicco et al. continue to soldier on at Gambell for another two weeks. After counting 4,375 Spectacled Eiders on 27 Sep, we added another 3,520 birds (again, almost all adult males) on 28 Sep, which included my largest SINGLE flock of the two days of 550 birds. (There are many flocks in the 25-200 range, with a few around 300 or so.) Also on the 28th we had TWO juvenile CHIPPING SPARROWS together (along with a Savannah)–my first-ever “flock” of Chippies at Gambell! Also another Greater Scaup (again, surprisingly casual in fall), and a new late-date for Rough-legged Hawk. Then, late in the afternoon–unlike the Rough-leg–I WAS able to fly off the island!

On 29 Sep, Luke obtained a local guide and visited the major lagoon complex about 10 or so miles ESE of Gambell along the north shore. There, they had an adult ROSS’S GULL feeding in the surf with Red Phalaropes. This is a very early arrival date south of the Bering Strait, the only other such early record for the area being the 4 adults I had at Gambell following the passage of an arctic front beginning on 28+ Sep in 2001. (Ross’s are said to be regular in small numbers at Gambell in Nov/Dec.) Luke also reported an exceptionally late Long-tailed Jaeger (adult), a late Parasitic Jaeger (record late for an adult), and new late dates for Dunlin (a bunch) and Peregrine Falcon.  And last but not least, Luke estimated another 5,000+ Spectacled Eiders on the 29th. So the three-day, 27-29 Sep, grand total of Spectacled Eiders there was 13,000+!

Paul Lehman writes:

The news out of Gambell the past 5 days includes the following:

Spectacled Eiders continue to pass by in reduced numbers, with the recent high being 715 birds on 4 Oct. The ratio of females to males in slowly increasing.

Some impressive late dates being set (despite the cold and strong northerly winds the past week) were topped by a NORTHERN WHEATEAR photo’d on the extraordinary date of 4 October. My late date had been 17 Sep (2002)! Also record late were a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel on 1 Oct, Parasitic Jaeger on 3 Oct, American Pipit on 3 Oct, and Ancient Murrelet and Red-necked Grebe on 4 Oct.

New one-day high counts set include 157 Yellow-billed Loons (all alternate adults) on 4 Oct, 1080 Pigeon Guillemots on 2 Oct, and 207 Common Eiders on 4 Oct.

Other miscellanea include 2 Black Guillemots (first of the season this year), a couple more whitish Gyrfalcons, another Ruby-crowned Kinglet through 3 Oct, Slaty-backed Gull, and 7200 Crested Auklets on 4 Oct being a large number for this late in the season.