Small wader with orange legs and beak, Berwick upon Tweed (1 Viewer)

[louisk]

Hi folks,

Just saw a small wader (maybe a tad under pigeon sized, much smaller than nearby mallards) picking around the shore of the tidal river in Berwick upon Tweed with:

• Short, bright orange legs
• bright orange beak, not long. Can't say if it was darker tip but def orange on beak
• white/cream underneath
• brownish grey on top
• vivid clear white wing bar in flight

Not sure how much patterning it had on its back, and I don't remember an impression of a spotty stomach but couldn't definitely rule it out.

It made a call similar to those on merlin app for Common or Spotted sandpiper, a few short loud piercing squeaks.

Various sandpipers look plausible but I'm not sure! Any ideas?

 

[foresttwitcher]

Redshank?

 

[andrew_s]

A Redshank

Common redshank

Def. a great surprise. RIP Tina Turner. No one else can laugh like you.

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[Julie50]

could it be a redshank - there are lots of those in Berwick harbour? I took these pics there in August.

 

[Julie50]

Ohh - cross posted twice!

 

[louisk]

Should have said, legs were much shorter than redshank - perhaps half the length!

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Purple sandpiper

 

[Julie50]

Purple sandpiper

Good shout! Can you get a pic?

 

[andrew_s]

Vivid clear white wing bar doesn't match purple sandpiper.

Redshank:

Enthusiastic bather 1

I'd never watched a Redshank taking a bath before, and never seen any other species go about it with such gusto - running, jumping, splashing up a storm. It was really quite a show!

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Purple Sand

PS037.OM1.150400.Jan23sml.jpg

Purple Sandpiper

www.birdforum.net

Purple sandpiper

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[louisk]

Interesting - there is enough white on the wing of the purple sandpiper to be a contender for me. It was below me in flight, between me and a low sun, so could have appeared brighter than it seemed. Wingspan of sandpiper relative to the mallards flying nearby seems plausible too!

 

[Earnest lad]

Interesting - there is enough white on the wing of the purple sandpiper to be a contender for me. It was below me in flight, between me and a low sun, so could have appeared brighter than it seemed. Wingspan of sandpiper relative to the mallards flying nearby seems plausible too!

I understand Purple Sandpipers are often relatively tame or approachable in comparison to many other waders/shorebirds. Might that be a pointer. Did you manage to be reasonably close up to it?

 

[louisk]

I understand Purple Sandpipers are often relatively tame or approachable in comparison to many other waders/shorebirds. Might that be a pointer. Did you manage to be reasonably close up to it?

Ah sure, I got say 15 metres from it, after I approached from 50+m away, along the Riverside path. It seemed unphased. After a few mins with the binoculars I was surprised when the whole group was spooked by something, including previously sleeping mallards. Other folks had walked past too come to think of it, less than 10m away, during that time.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Sounds like a Turnstone to me.

 

[dantheman]

Sounds like a Turnstone to me.

That's what I was thinking, but orange bill led me away ... ?

 

[a_j_steele]

Not ringed plover?

 

[lockbreeze926]

Not ringed plover?

That never occurred to me, but re-reading the OP, that matches very well indeed.