Waders

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imogenw33
Waders

Taken at Cairns Esplanade last weekend. I have a silver gull, bar tailed godwit and greater sand plover but can't tell whether the little waders on the left and right are sanderlings or red necked stints.

SteveM
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They are Red-necked Stints.

ihewman
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Yes, Sanderlings are easily confused with RN Stints but their size sets them appart... a Sanderling is about the same size, if not slightly bigger, than a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (or in your case, relatively the same size as a Greater Sandplover) whereas RN Stints are the significantly smaller ones. So, Red-necked Stints it is!

Brandon (aka ihewman)

ihewman
ihewman's picture

BTW... I'm loving these wader posts, everyone if you have wader photos that need identifying, please send them in! IMHO, I think this is a great way to learn about these birds as many people (including me) had/has trouble with IDing them. I don't think you can teach yourself to ID waders... instead, people learn from more experienced people.

Also, a fellow birder was in Cairns just recently and got Broad-billed Sandpiper, although I don't know if he was in the same area. We also got 3 Broad-billed Sandpipers at our monthly Port survey last weekend.

Brandon (aka ihewman)

Woko
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I agree, Brandon. Those waders have me flumoxed, flumocksed or even flumixed, a lot of the time.

thick_knee
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Great idea Brandon. And this one is?

Patrik

imogenw33

I think that is a greenshank. This one attached has the broad billed sandpiper already mentioned in it. I see 6 species, would be interested if anyone can find any more.

Woko
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I think I see 8, but don't ask me to name them. Or is that 7 on a countback?

SteveM
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Post #6 is a Terek Sandpiper.

thick_knee
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Thanks for that SteveM.

Patrik

imogenw33

Can someone name them. I might have a new sighting! I have the following:

silver gull, bar-tailed godwit, broad-billed sandpiper, greater sand plover, sharp-tailed sandpiper, red-necked stint

and I've just spotted a blurry terek sandpiper in the foreground.

SteveM
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imogenw33 - It would be helpful if you posted full or maximum resolution photos!

imogenw33

It is the maximum the site would allow, just under 500kb. Does this help?

SteveM
SteveM's picture

imogenw33 - I did wonder what the size limit was, but it appears to me that your first 2 photos are only about 55kB each, i.e. about 1/10th the 500kb limit, & the 2 photos in you post#13 appear to be about 61kB & 53kB. 

Yes, the extra photos in post#13 do help a little.

In the top photo, the bird 2nd from right, at bottom (standing up & closest to the Barwit sitting down) appears? to be something different to the others, possibly a Curlew Sandpiper?  Is this the one you thought might be a Terek? I have my doubts.

In the bottom photo, the bird 4th from the right, appears to be the Broad-billed that you mentioned?, but I can't say for certain from that photo.   

dwatsonbb
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If you use one of the hosting sites, like flickr or photobucket, and upload your photos, you can post links, which will allow us to view better quality images. Most offer limited free accounts, or you can upgrade (for a fee) to store more. It is also potentially a backup for your photos.

If you post a photo, and then delete it from your host site, it will disappear from the forum as well. On a lot of the older posts, you can no longer see the photos.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

ihewman
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SteveM wrote:

Post #6 is a Terek Sandpiper.

I'm sorry, but this is a Common Greenshank... Terek SP has very stout legs and are also bright yellow/orange in colour. I see how the up-turned bill is misleading but Greenshanks also have up-turned bills.

Brandon (aka ihewman)

ihewman
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imogenw33 wrote:

This one attached has the broad billed sandpiper already mentioned in it. I see 6 species, would be interested if anyone can find any more.

Did you mean there is a Broad-billed Sandpiper in there somewhere? As far as I can see, there are only 5 species (unless the BB Sandpiper is identified): Silver Gulls, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greater Sandplover, Red-necked Stint and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

Brandon (aka ihewman)

SteveM
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ihewman wrote:
SteveM wrote:

Post #6 is a Terek Sandpiper.

I'm sorry, but this is a Common Greenshank... Terek SP has very stout legs and are also bright yellow/orange in colour. I see how the up-turned bill is misleading but Greenshanks also have up-turned bills.

Brandon - The legs are orange & way too short for Greenshank.

Patrik - Is there any chance you have another photo of this bird with another species in the same shot, for size comparison?

ihewman
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Oh, ok Terek SP it is...

Brandon (aka ihewman)

Lachlan
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How do you manage to ID those things? Is it just practise, or is there some sort of arcane art behind it all?

imogenw33

This is the (heavy) crop of the original photo showing what I think is the broad-billed sandpiper.

And here is the link to the original full picture. Still hoping someone will spot something new for me!

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o547/ImogenWarren/2013-10-0918_zps0626645a.jpg

Regarding identification of waders I start with the bill: length, colour and if it is upturned, straight or downturned. Then I look at the legs: colour and length. I find colour the most misleading part and I get better results from looking online rather than my bird books. And if all else fails, I post here. I am still hopeless but like to practice and learn.

thick_knee
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Hi Steve and Brandon, in this photo, although very similar, you can see the colour of the legs better.

Patrik

Lachlan
Lachlan's picture

Thanks for the advice about IDing waders. I take it plumage is pretty irrelevant, as many of the waders look similar?

Also, how do you estimate size accurately in the field? My book will suggest size as a way of differentiating two waders, but I can't seem to observe the differences accurately from an approachable distance (usually about 10m+). 

dwatsonbb
dwatsonbb's picture

Off topic with ID, but Imogen you might want to check some of the security setting for your photobucket account, as you can view all your photos from the above link - not a problem if your happy for others to see your album.

Also you can copy and paste the "IMG" code for your photo into your thread, which will show your photo, but not allow others to follow back to your account.

EDIT: the first time I clicked your link, I was able to view other photos, that seems now not to be the case. It is obvious, the improvement in displayed quality is evident.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

imogenw33

Thanks for the advice, I haven't changed the settings so who knows!

SteveM
SteveM's picture

imogenw33 - There seems to be something going on with the image resolution when you post your photos on here. 

Your original image file on photobucket is much better resolution & some of the identifying features for Broad-billed Sandpiper are much easier to see. i.e. The bill is quite broad(wide) for most it's length & obvious double(split) white eye-brow(supercilium)

I hope you don't mind, but I downloaded your original image file & cropped it myself.  I've never posted a photo on here before, but will give it a go, & see how the image resolution compares to your previous postings. 

So, hopefully here's your Broad-billed Sandpiper with a couple of Red-necked Stints included for comparison.

SteveM
SteveM's picture

OK, the image that I uploaded was 142KB, but appears on here as 48KB, although the actual resolultion appears to my eye to be very similiar for both.  Anyhow, hopefully now others can better see why it's a Broad-billed Sandpiper.

And here's the other bird (7th species) in your original image that appears to be different to everything else, although I'm not quite sure what it is. My best guess for bird on far right, is Curlew Sandpiper?, based mainly on size (compared to the nearby Sharpies), & it's longish legs appear to be black.

ihewman
ihewman's picture

Ok, with Broad-billed Sandpiper, look for the characteristic double eyebrow - essentially giving the bird 4 stripes along the head - which can be easily seen in the cropped image. Although, the bird, compared to the stints behind it, appears to be a relatively small individual... but you can assume that the bird has just recently arrived and is underweight from it's migration. However, BB Sandpiper is generally smaller than the Sharpies anyway, in which it usually hangs out with. So, definitely a Broad-billed Sandpiper IMHO...

Brandon (aka ihewman)

imogenw33

Thanks for the feedback, I don't mind at all if someone can sort out my photos! I'll have a play around with the resolution issue. There were curlew sandpipers on the beach that day so it is possible that the last bird is one. 

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