Common greenshank with with a broken beak? (1 Viewer)

[Michał Jaro]

Hi what do you think - is it Common greenshank with a broken beak?

 

[Butty]

Could you give the location and date, please? Thanks.
Seems to be missing its tail.

 

[Michał Jaro]

tail ? what about bill? 12 april, south Poland

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
do you have more pictures? At first I agreed with Butty, that tail might well be missing.
But I think now, that tail might well be "lost" in picture quality. Greenshank has a quite whitish tail (with barring doesnt distract much from this). And it surely helps, that I am on a good screen.
I struggled hard to make this bird into a Wood Sandpiper (is the white back real or an artefact ...), but I failed.
Do you have seen this short bill in the field, too? At fist I thought, proportions were slightly off for a Greenshank with a too small head (and to broad wings), but now I think, the bird is turning its head towards you.

So I think, this is indeed a Greenshank with an abnormal short bill. Or is there a vagrant that looks like this bird?
Hope to be wrong here!

 

[Stonefaction]

I don't think it is missing either beak or tail. The head seems turned towards camera foreshortening the bill and the white of the rump is hard to make out against the pale grey sky background.

EDIT: Alexander has posted while I was typing up the above with the similar conclusions.

 

[Michał Jaro]

Thanks for helping !
But white rump is white rump (and top) is not artifact (see below)
And beak .. there are three photos (three other positions) with the same lenght of it. Ive saw gulls with that turned head ... but sandpipers? and still too short

 

[Butty]

I'm not at all convinced that this is a bird with a broken bill. It doesn't strike me as a greenshank - spotted redshank (with head turned) might be more likely - or not. I doubt it's identifiable.

 

[pianoman]

Spotted redshank occurred to me too, given the location

 

[Michał Jaro]

Spotted redshank ? let's take a look at the range of white on the top and rump, the beak should be even longer .... impossible in my opinion, but thanks for your point

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
thanks to Stonefaction, Butty and Pianoman from me, too! As said, Greenshank doesnt seem a 100% perfect match still today, but still a better fit than other (european) waders.
But yes, thanks Butty for reminding me not to squeeze to much out of such pictures (do I still have to write that this isnt meant as offence, as you know Michal). Bird isnt IDable for me with confidence, but maybe others can? I hope for more comments!

 

[Stonefaction]

Could Marsh Sandpiper be a possibility? Could explain the small head 'feel' and potentially also the thin looking bill. Not in any way suggesting the photo is identifiable as a Marsh Sandpiper but just wondering 'out loud' as to whether it is a possibility given the location etc.

EDIT: Having looked into the possibility, I've found that Heatherlea list Marsh Sandpiper as a target species on their Poland holiday though more to the west of the country, rather than to the south (may also be possible there though).

 

[Jos Stratford]

I wondered about Marsh Sandpiper and, as here in Lithuania, though generally uncommon, it can occur anywhere in Poland on passage.

 

[Michał Jaro]

Answering your questions - this is how marsh warbler is possible to meet in Poland - 44 sightings in Poland this year, also in the south of the country

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,

thanks to all for commenting!
I considered Marsh SP too, but dismissed it by what seems to be too short and slighty too stocky (?) legs. But then I was reminded not to lay much confidence in features here. Thanks again Butty: still unIDable for me.

And a typo in post 13: Marsh Sandpiper and not Marsh Warbler