Bumped into Derek Robertson at Cullaloe and with his help managed a re-calibration of my wader ID. 5
Black-tailed Godwits which were there earlier had moved on but one wader remained - the "needed"
Green Sandpiper. I could not at all convince myself that it was a
Green Sand, such was its light tone, but with the aid of Derek's 'scope I was able to see it stretching and revealing its white rump, and also the "spangling" of light marks on the back which made it lighter. I've seen hundreds of them, so I was quite taken aback. The Collins Guide (and RSPB website) describe it as "
almost black", and "like a large
House Martin"
- this is exactly what I was expecting. Could it be that I've only ever seen adults? Either way a terrible gaffe, so no excuses. I may have finally noticed from the
Godwit photos of yesterday that I had mis-identified the
Sandpiper, but I doubt it...
 |
| Godwit and Green Sandpiper |
 |
| Feeding |
 |
| The tone I expected - "large House Martin" |
 |
| Actual House Martins, migrants probably downed by rain |
No comments:
Post a Comment