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shorebirds Korea August (1 Viewer)

E

earlytorise

Well-known member
These pictures were all taken in Incheon near Seoul in late August. I haven't had much experience identifying waders so I'd be grateful for confirmation.

1) Intermediate Egret?
2) Vega Gull?
3) Black-tailed Godwit and Terek Sandpiper surrounded by Greenshanks?
4) How do you tell a Eurasian from a Far Eastern Curlew when it's standing up? I know the best clue is the colour of the rump, but I must have been distracted when it was in flight.

Thanks so much!
 

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1. intermediate egret
2. hard without an open wing but jizz rather says mongolian gull (supported by clean white head in late august)
3. bar-tailed godwit (eastern birds have this long bills) surrounded by 5 greenshanks (terek being a much smaller bird) and 2 marsh sandpipers, the latter just to the right of the bar-tailed godwit
4. has to be orientalis eurasian curlew. i think even males of far-eastern have longer bills but this should not be the only criteria. maybe someone else can elucidate the subtle differences.
 
1. I'm finding this one a bit tricky. I get an impression of a small (possibly young) Great Egret but not entirely sure.
2. Not sure.
3. Agree with Bar-tailed Godwit and Greenshanks.
4. The white (not buff) underparts support Eurasian Curlew.
 
johnallcock said:
1. I'm finding this one a bit tricky. I get an impression of a small (possibly young) Great Egret but not entirely sure.
Click to expand...

Me too. The eyeline seems to go behind the eye. And these bird can pull in their necks a long way. Also, where I am at least, Intermediate Egrets tend to be in fields while Great and Little will often be together in watery environments (ponds, lakes, near-shores).
 
I'm going to SWAG Mongolian for the gull, based on the various pictures on Birds Korea which show a much deeper pink color for the legs of a Vega.

I also lean toward great egret.
 
Really struggling to see a Great Egret for the first, the proportions are way off, bill too short and deep, neck too short and thick. I'd be pretty confident on Intermediate
 
Agree on Intermediate Egret, and and that the Barwit is with Greenshanks only; Mongolian Gull also agreed, with nice white head and yellow legs.
 
1. Relative size is important in being able to differentiate Intermediate and Great in the field, which doesn't help in this pic. The gape line can aid in ID, but there is a considerable variation in the Intermediate especially, with some extending to the back of the eye. Great White are more likely in open waters, especially deeper water of course, but I have all three in everything from trees to open water. All that said, the overall jiz of your bird tends to impress me as Intermediate. Including some shots that have all three together.

2. Looks like Mongolian to me, though gulls are not a strong point for me. I am just in the last few days in Liaoning, China starting to see a few individual Mongolians

3. Bar-Tailed Godwit & Greenshanks

4. Curlew is tough but I agree with white underparts indicating Eurasian
 

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In regard to the egret, I have just had a look at google images for both Great Egret and Intermediate Egret.

The own thoughts based on this (although I am not an expert) are :

1. Bill is not got the same proportions as that of the Great Egret (it seems to be shorter relative to thickness than that of Great Egret.)
2. The line under the eye is very similar to other Intermediate Egrets in not extending as far as is often seen with Great Egret.
3. In a Great Egret the neck is often seen to be relatively longer and thinner producing a more "elegant" look than that of the Intermediate Egret. In the case of the photo we are looking at the latter option (Intermediate Egret) presented itself to myself as perhaps more fitting (notwithstanding the previous comment that the bird may at times admittedly "pull it's neck in").
4. Looking at the photo of the putative Intermediate Egret we are studying does it not present as a bird that is somewhat lesser in size or heftiness than would perhaps be the case in that of Great Egret
 
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