Mistery Stint from Israel (1 Viewer)

[sasi_yaad]

Hi all,
Noam Weiss located an interesting stint at Eilat - southern Israel.
He asked me to post some pics he took yesterday.
The ID is not straightforward as you can see from the pics.
The Stint's belly is contaminated with oil so the feathers sticks to the belly.
The size is close to Little stint but with much longer wings, estimated as 1.5-2 cm beyond the tail.
The upper tail and rump are much like Little stint and not like Bairds sand.
Feeding action as I understand are quick and active but while pecking and probing the head was always bent down, in other words the head was held up only at rest. Also there is a full breast bend.
No vocalizations...
The original description is much longer but I hope I summed it right.
here are some pics...
Give us your opinion please.
Noam.

 

[lambshank]

can't see much on rump - any idea. r u sure its size is as small as little stint as seems to be bigger with the rp and dunlin. my guess would still be a poor looking dunlin. not 100 percent though

ls

 

[Strandman]

Hi all,
Noam Weiss located an interesting stint at Eilat - southern Israel.
He asked me to post some pics he took yesterday.
The ID is not straightforward as you can see from the pics.
The Stint's belly is contaminated with oil so the feathers sticks to the belly.
The size is close to Little stint but with much longer wings, estimated as 1.5-2 cm beyond the tail.
The upper tail and rump are much like Little stint and not like Bairds sand.
Feeding action as I understand are quick and active but while pecking and probing the head was always bent down, in other words the head was held up only at rest. Also there is a full breast bend.
No vocalizations...
The original description is much longer but I hope I summed it right.
here are some pics...
Give us your opinion please.
Noam.

I seem to be a bit busy on here currently..

anyway I find myself wondering whether this could be a very unhappy Dunlin

reasoning (trying not to simply to say that it looks like one to me)

- combination of the head length and shape in pic #1 (ignoring for a moment the shortish bill)

full streaked breastband

long wings (longer than a Little Stint by quite some measure, as you describe)

scapular markings (pale with anchor at tip)

edit: I see lambshank beat me to it..

 

[lambshank]

I seem to be a bit busy on here currently..

anyway I find myself wondering whether this could be a very unhappy Dunlin

reasoning (trying not to simply to say that it looks like one to me)

- combination of the head length and shape in pic #1 (ignoring for a moment the shortish bill)

full streaked breastband

long wings (longer than a Little Stint by quite some measure, as you describe)

scapular markings (pale with anchor at tip)

edit: I see lambshank beat me to it..

white-back, no we both reached same idea at the same time. i just wrote less than you.

long-wings due to the poor tail

ls

 

[Strandman]

white-back, no we both reached same idea at the same time. i just wrote less than you.

long-wings due to the poor tail

ls

I blame grosser (just joking g)- prior to recent events I would have been content to respond with a one-liner..

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

can't see much on rump - any idea. r u sure its size is as small as little stint as seems to be bigger with the rp and dunlin. my guess would still be a poor looking dunlin. not 100 percent though

ls

What Dunlin?

 

[Strandman]

What Dunlin?

I thought it was looking its least Dunliny and was with a Little Stint in pic #4.

 

[lambshank]

I thought it was looking its least Dunliny and was with a Little Stint in pic #4.

yes, sorry other wader on reflection is a little stint. agree with white back that the bird looks least dunliny here. what do you think andrew then?

 

[Rob Smallwood]

I thought the stint was a Tem!

 

[gerdwichers8]

It recalls a Western Sandpiper in the first picture: Better sort this one out real careful

 

[Strandman]

It recalls a Western Sandpiper in the first picture: Better sort this one out real careful

I agree with both of those points! But having put forward Dunlin as a left-field theory I shall gently remove myself from the fray.

Try this though (sorry as ever for dodgy methodology)-

-forget you have read the thread

-forget the first 4 pics

-click on pic #5

What does it look most like..

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

yes, sorry other wader on reflection is a little stint. agree with white back that the bird looks least dunliny here. what do you think andrew then?

I don't know. I think it's quite puzzling and I understand the suggestion of it being a Dunlin, as much through a process of elimination as anything else. I'm still not convinced that it 'feels' like a Dunlin though.

 

[gerdwichers8]

Primary projection is not possible to tell since the tertials are mere relicts from what they use to be; totally damaged

to leave it for Dunlin: not and Temminkc: not. For now best is Little

 

[lambshank]

I don't know.

this is now my answer. difficult and i'm thinking size wise this may not be dunlin thought theres lots of races. really doesn't look right for little stint. difficult

ls

 

[gerdwichers8]

The picture together with the Ringed Plover, the bird shows a supercilium which is narrow; not good for Western.

 

[lostinjapan]

this is now my answer. difficult and i'm thinking size wise this may not be dunlin thought theres lots of races. really doesn't look right for little stint. difficult

ls

I am not a real expert..having only seen one Western Sandpiper, but given that is doesn't seem much bigger than the Little Stint in 4, and given the bill length, priamries reaching the the tip of the tail, mantle pattern and possible pattern of the anchors on the coverts that is what I think it is. it actually looks a better candidate than the Western Sand in Osaka last week.

I am not sure that Dunlin ever get quite that small, averaging between 19 and 21 cms.

While Western Sand ranges between 14 and 17cm.

Think we need some AMERICAN INPUT.

 

[gerdwichers8]

I know we need some American input, but I ll keep it Little Stint: I find no solid evidence for any other species.
It s a bit atypical, thats what it is.