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| Baird's Sandpiper, BHM, 15/08/2015 ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Baird's Sandpiper, BHM, 15/08/2015 ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
In Lars Jonsson's
Birds of Europe , the first thing he tells you about Baird's is that it's "Like White-rumped Sandpiper but with a straighter and all-black bill." I know my phonescoped shots are not great but we can still see this, plus its eye-ring and plumage colouration which point to Baird's, especially when we notice the complete lack of 'flecking' on the flanks. Plus the almost Pec-like abrupt cessation of its breast-band, contrasting with very white underparts. Many authors feel that it's not even necessary to see the rump and tail-pattern to separate Baird's from White-rumped. Eventually, this too was observed by all but I think this was more because we had all been expecting a White-rump as there have recently been several of them around the U.K.! What we got was the wrong sandpiper, Gromit, but never mind, we all learned something. I must admit, I craftily scanned my ancient texts to refresh my memory of all this ( Richard Chandler's
Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere and the very old Hayman,Marchant & Prater
Shorebirds amongst them). So, I'm not having a go at anybody just reviewing Saturday's events. I'd like to thank Phil for putting the news out even before we knew the precise i.d. as this is very helpful to others that want to see the bird before it goes. Its one-day stay might have meant more people missing out otherwise. Anyhow, another cracking wader for BHM - let's hope there's another this Autumn!
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| Baird's Sandpiper, BHM, 15/08/2015 ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Synchronised Ruffs, Seaton, 16/08/2015 ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Synchronised Ruffs, Seaton, 16/08/2015 ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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