Waders - Brockenhurst, Hampshire (1 Viewer)

[General Melchett]

Apologies for the photo quality.
Pretty sure 1 and 2 Curlew and Redshank respectively. Grey plover for 3?
Many thanks.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
yes I agree with you: Curlew, Common Redshank and Grey Plover for me too.
Your Grey Plover is one of those pictures, where its good to trust the gut feeling/jizz a not to dig deeper.

 

[General Melchett]

Hello,
yes I agree with you: Curlew, Common Redshank and Grey Plover for me too.
Your Grey Plover is one of those pictures, where its good to trust the gut feeling/jizz a not to dig deeper.

Thanks Alexander. Haha I don’t think the third picture would allow much digging deeper, so jizz it is! 😆

 

[Butty]

Could you give the dates, please? Thanks.
1. Contrastingly-dark cap suggests whimbrel. Difficult to see where the bill ends but it looks short.

 

[General Melchett]

Could you give the dates, please? Thanks.
1. Contrastingly-dark cap suggests whimbrel. Difficult to see where the bill ends but it looks short.

Cheers Butty. Exactly a week ago. Will try to dig out some other shots

 

[PYRTLE]

I think the bill is camouflaged with the same colouration as the mud it has been probing but perhaps other images may reveal a crown stripe. Looks a tad bulky for the smaller of the two species.....we shall see.

 

[General Melchett]

Equally questionable shots but help with the bill

 

[Butty]

Curlew, from bill length. The bird(s) in these three photos anyway!

 

[General Melchett]

Curlew, from bill length. The bird(s) in these three photos anyway!

Thanks

 

[THE_FERN]

(all curlew for me. Cap not dark enough (=lighting effects), and contrasting pale stripes not pale and contrasting enough for me to think whimbrel)

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,

yes, I surely squeeze too much out of the first picture but I dig deeper (and skip picture quality, no offense you know):
The first bird is a Curlew imo, I agree with The Fern:

• shape of the supercilium is bad/strange for a Whimbrel imo, because it's much weaker in front of the eye, where it seems to fade (?, yes picture quality)
• Same with the eye stripe, which seems to have a quite sharp and distinct upper border, but a slightly smeared one towards the earcoverts (like smeared mascara) Bad for Whimbrel, where it is often either distinct and clearcut or adding to a oval shaped twinkling eye impression. But good for those well marked Curlews.

 

[General Melchett]

Thanks for the pointers guys. And no offence taken re the photo quality … it’s a recurring feature for me 😆

 

[Farnboro John]

Could you give the dates, please? Thanks.
1. Contrastingly-dark cap suggests whimbrel. Difficult to see where the bill ends but it looks short.

Sun is behind bird so crown is in deep shadow. Bill is Curlew.

John

 

[Butty]

Sun is behind bird so crown is in deep shadow

In first photo, from our point of view, sun is incident from front and right. Front half of crown is in shade, rear half is well-lit and that (obviously) was the part to which my comment referred.

Bill is Curlew

In latter photos, obviously (as I said). In first, length isn't visible.