I spent another hot afternoon on the Esplanade today and managed to get some more decent videos. With waders, I often find that once you have observed a species, it becomes much easier to separate them. Differences that look fairly subtle on paper become glaringly apparent in the field. That is why I thought video is an excellent idea! Here is a video I took today of a Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) feeding near the boardwalk at the southern end.
The following video is of an Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) chasing prey at the northern end. It collapses chasing a crab after running into mud too soft for it. Not something often observed with these usually sure-footed birds!
The Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew are wildly different looking birds. The bill length and size of the birds make them unmistakable for one another. A good guideline I have heard is, “The Eastern Curlew looks as though it could easily touch the tip of its tail while the Whimbrel looks like it can’t”. As I said though, it will only take a sighting or two before separating them is second nature. In the above video of the Whimbrel, there is actually an Eastern Curlew calling in the background, see if you can pick it up! It is interesting that these two species often react to each other’s calls on some level.
I also took some decent footage of the Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) and Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis). A number of these species present an ID problem in the field. I find that despite some characteristics clearly separating them from similar species should you get a decent photo, there are some general GISS characteristics you should look out for that may be more helpful while observing.
I will post about them in the coming days!
