I visited one of my favourite sites today and came across this wader below, which I have to admit, gave me some headaches. My first reaction was Semi-palmated Sandpiper but moved to Little Stint and then back again once the bird was aged as a first year. Back home I downloaded the images and became more confused! Red-necked Stint was also considered but following conversations with Kester Wilson, John Chapple and Brian Field, the consensus is indeed a first year Semi-p. Close inspection does show palmations between the webs, the anchor shaped centres to some of the scapulars and the generally greyish-brown scaly upperparts.
The first winter Pectoral Sandpiper below was one of three present from the previous evening.
Superb find Steve
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, What a find and brilliant images, I'm still recovering from the Hawfinch shots.
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