How many shorebirds/waders have you seen? (1 Viewer)

[Nightjar61]

My total is 107, and includes birds from the following families:

Buttonquail
Thick-knees
Oystercatchers
Ibisbill
Stilts and Avocets
Plovers
Egyptian Plover
Painted-snipes
Jacanas
Seedsnipes
Sandpipers and Snipes
Crab-plover
Coursers and Pratincoles

Dave

 

[Andy Adcock]

And presumably this didn’t include Buttonquail where there are some very tricky species, or Javan Lapwing.

Not sure about this one, perhaps someone who knows David well, could tell us and I am talking over twenty years ago.

Twitcher starts last lap of odyssey to see all the world's waders

Even for such a dedicated - some would say obsessive - hobby as bird-watching, David Rosair is on the brink of a remarkable feat.

www.independent.co.uk

 

[DMW]

Not sure about this one, perhaps someone who knows David well, could tell us and I am talking over twenty years ago.

Twitcher starts last lap of odyssey to see all the world's waders

Even for such a dedicated - some would say obsessive - hobby as bird-watching, David Rosair is on the brink of a remarkable feat.

www.independent.co.uk

The article is unfortunately behind a pay wall, but I'm also on the last lap to see all the world's shorebirds... it's just a very long lap

20 years ago, Obi Woodcock was unknown in the field, but is now gettable. Sulawesi Woodcock is notoriously difficult, and I'm not sure more than a handful of birders have seen it. Javan and Dusky Woodcocks no joke to see, but are gettable.

Fuegian Snipe and Black-faced Sheathbill are gettable with a lot of money. I believe some of the Sub-Antarctic Snipe are functionally impossible (20 years ago much easier pre-split!). Two buttonquail are basically unknown in life.

I would say that with a dedicated and well-funded effort, you could have a good shot at seeing all but about 5 of the world's extant shorebirds in a year. Sadly, 2 that were gettable 20 years ago are probably now extinct.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

The two probably extinct are Slender-billed Curlew, and which other?

 

[DMW]

The two probably extinct are Slender-billed Curlew, and which other?

Jerdon's Courser

 

[Jacana]

Tuamotu Sandpiper also requires deep pockets.

It takes a certain amount of sado-masochism to attempt to see all the Buttonquail in the world, even if you write-off Buff-breasted and New Caledonian as lost. Is it worth spending the best years of your life kicking around in the grasslands of upland Luzon trying to find Worcester's? Not to mention all the insurance ticks you need to get as I doubt that current species limits in the family are correct.

Of course, this is all moot for David Rosair, as 20 years ago, Turnicidae were still floating around in Gruiformes.

 

[YuShan]

2 Buttonquail
2 Stone-curlews, Thick-knees
1 Sheathbills
5 Oystercatchers
1 Ibisbill
4 Stilts, Avocets
25 Plovers
1 Painted-snipes
6 Jacanas
46 Sandpipers, Snipes
1 Coursers, Pratincoles

Total: 94

 

[Andy Adcock]

Jerdon's Courser

I thought people were just not getting access to the site?

 

[Andy Adcock]

The article is unfortunately behind a pay wall, but I'm also on the last lap to see all the world's shorebirds... it's just a very long lap

20 years ago, Obi Woodcock was unknown in the field, but is now gettable. Sulawesi Woodcock is notoriously difficult, and I'm not sure more than a handful of birders have seen it. Javan and Dusky Woodcocks no joke to see, but are gettable.

Fuegian Snipe and Black-faced Sheathbill are gettable with a lot of money. I believe some of the Sub-Antarctic Snipe are functionally impossible (20 years ago much easier pre-split!). Two buttonquail are basically unknown in life.

I would say that with a dedicated and well-funded effort, you could have a good shot at seeing all but about 5 of the world's extant shorebirds in a year. Sadly, 2 that were gettable 20 years ago are probably now extinct.

​

Here's a copy and paste for you.

​

Twitcher starts last lap of odyssey to see all the world's waders​

Brian Unwin
Monday 24 April 2000 00:00

Even for such a dedicated - some would say obsessive - hobby as bird-watching, David Rosair is on the brink of a remarkable feat.
The twitcher from Whitstable in Kent is attempting to become the first person to see all the world's 211 species of wading birds.

In a remarkable and obscure 40-year odyssey he has visited 70 countries, chalking up 209 species of the long-legged shorebirds, typified by curlews, plovers and sandpipers.

Now he is off to the jungles of Indonesia in an effort to glimpse the final two that have eluded him - the dusky woodcock (Scolopax saturata), which is found on the islands of Java and Sumatra, and the Celebes woodcock (Scolopax celebensis), confined to Sulawesi. Both birds are related to Britain's own woodcock(Scolopax rusticola), the long-billed gamebird seen patrolling its woodland territory at dusk.
"I know all the world birders, and am well aware none, alive or dead, has encountered so many different types of waders," Mr Rosair said. "Finding the last two would be quite an achievement - and I hope it earns me a place in The Guinness Book of Records."
A professional ornithologist, Mr Rosair, 52, is the author of a comprehensive photographic guide to the waders of the world and is confident that his latest journey will add extra information for his next work, Where to Find Shorebirds.

Locating some of the rarer of the 209 species on which he has already set eyes has also fitted neatly with his "day job" of leading overseas bird-watching tours.
"It all began on 25 July 1960, when I wrote in my very first notebook, 'A lapwing flew over open ground on Epsom Downs, Surrey'," he said, just back from leading a group around the Isles of Scilly.
"After that it became progressively harder. I have kept the two Indonesian woodcock until last because they're such a challenge, due to their secretive habits. The only chance of seeing them will be during their brief dawn-and-dusk display flights."
Mr Rosair is used to beating the odds to extend his wader list. He has travelled several times to inaccessible islands, such as the Ryukyu group south of Okinawa, Japan, to find the Amami woodcock (Scolopax mira). He took a nine-day round-trip by sea from South Africa to visit the isolated Atlantic island where the exiled Napoleon ended his days. It is the only spot where the St Helena plover (Charadrius sanctaehelenae) can be seen.

Remoter still was the Tuamotu archipelago in the Pacific, almost exactly midway between Australia and South America, where the target was the 6in-long Tuamotu sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata), another species which can be found nowhere else in the world.
"Usually the expeditions have been successful but one failure was when I tried to find the white-bellied seedsnipe [Attagis malouinus] by the Marshall Glacier, near Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina, nine years ago," he said.
"Due to the physical effort involved, that was a particular disappointment. So it was very satisfying to return there in January this year and obtain good views of this resident of barren mountains and exposed moorland."

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[DMW]

I thought people were just not getting access to the site?

I don't think access would be an issue for accredited Indian ornithologists, and as far as I am aware it's quite a few years since the last record. Of course it's not the easiest bird to find so there's always some hope.

 

[DMW]

​

Here's a copy and paste for you.

​

Twitcher starts last lap of odyssey to see all the world's waders​

Brian Unwin
Monday 24 April 2000 00:00

Even for such a dedicated - some would say obsessive - hobby as bird-watching, David Rosair is on the brink of a remarkable feat.
The twitcher from Whitstable in Kent is attempting to become the first person to see all the world's 211 species of wading birds.

In a remarkable and obscure 40-year odyssey he has visited 70 countries, chalking up 209 species of the long-legged shorebirds, typified by curlews, plovers and sandpipers.

Now he is off to the jungles of Indonesia in an effort to glimpse the final two that have eluded him - the dusky woodcock (Scolopax saturata), which is found on the islands of Java and Sumatra, and the Celebes woodcock (Scolopax celebensis), confined to Sulawesi. Both birds are related to Britain's own woodcock(Scolopax rusticola), the long-billed gamebird seen patrolling its woodland territory at dusk.
"I know all the world birders, and am well aware none, alive or dead, has encountered so many different types of waders," Mr Rosair said. "Finding the last two would be quite an achievement - and I hope it earns me a place in The Guinness Book of Records."
A professional ornithologist, Mr Rosair, 52, is the author of a comprehensive photographic guide to the waders of the world and is confident that his latest journey will add extra information for his next work, Where to Find Shorebirds.

Locating some of the rarer of the 209 species on which he has already set eyes has also fitted neatly with his "day job" of leading overseas bird-watching tours.
"It all began on 25 July 1960, when I wrote in my very first notebook, 'A lapwing flew over open ground on Epsom Downs, Surrey'," he said, just back from leading a group around the Isles of Scilly.
"After that it became progressively harder. I have kept the two Indonesian woodcock until last because they're such a challenge, due to their secretive habits. The only chance of seeing them will be during their brief dawn-and-dusk display flights."
Mr Rosair is used to beating the odds to extend his wader list. He has travelled several times to inaccessible islands, such as the Ryukyu group south of Okinawa, Japan, to find the Amami woodcock (Scolopax mira). He took a nine-day round-trip by sea from South Africa to visit the isolated Atlantic island where the exiled Napoleon ended his days. It is the only spot where the St Helena plover (Charadrius sanctaehelenae) can be seen.

Remoter still was the Tuamotu archipelago in the Pacific, almost exactly midway between Australia and South America, where the target was the 6in-long Tuamotu sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata), another species which can be found nowhere else in the world.
"Usually the expeditions have been successful but one failure was when I tried to find the white-bellied seedsnipe [Attagis malouinus] by the Marshall Glacier, near Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina, nine years ago," he said.
"Due to the physical effort involved, that was a particular disappointment. So it was very satisfying to return there in January this year and obtain good views of this resident of barren mountains and exposed moorland."

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Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

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Thanks for the full article. His last two species are no surprise, but there's no mention of Obi Woodcock which was, at that time, unknown in the field. I don't know David and wonder if he ever completed his quest?
As noted, recent taxonomic changes have made this a much harder undertaking even if you ignore button quails.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Thanks for the full article. His last two species are no surprise, but there's no mention of Obi Woodcock which was, at that time, unknown in the field. I don't know David and wonder if he ever completed his quest?
As noted, recent taxonomic changes have made this a much harder undertaking even if you ignore button quails.

He omitted Obi Woodcock from his book as presumed extinct. I had forgotten that I had this on the shelf....

All the best

Paul

 

[DMW]

He omitted Obi Woodcock from his book as presumed extinct. I had forgotten that I had this on the shelf....

All the best

Paul

Interesting, thanks. That was a rather bold presumption which fortunately proved erroneous!

 

[Jacana]

Interesting, thanks. That was a rather bold presumption which fortunately proved erroneous!

The cynic in me thinks that it was easier to call it extinct and write it off than to try and hunt it down

 

[Andy Adcock]

Thanks for the full article. His last two species are no surprise, but there's no mention of Obi Woodcock which was, at that time, unknown in the field. I don't know David and wonder if he ever completed his quest?
As noted, recent taxonomic changes have made this a much harder undertaking even if you ignore button quails.

I met him in 2003 or 2004 at Birdfair and he did say that he had seen all the waders species, when was the Woodcock rediscovered?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Various pics in eBird & latest sighting last week....

https://ebird.org/malaysia/checklist/S123086403

It looks like back on the radar for the last decade? A number of sightings in there for 2012.

All the best

Paul

 

[Dortmundbirder]

7 Thick-knees
2 Oystercatchers
3 Stilts and Avocets
32 Plovers
3 Jacanas
45 Sandpipers
7 Pratincoles and Coursers

Make a total of 99 . Good to know to celebrate Number 100.

Seeing all is a very impresive effort.

 

[Paul Chapman]

76 wader species on my British & Irish list. Some work to do to ascertain any additional World species but 12 additions from 42 species seen on a Thailand trip earlier this month was a substantial dent in omissions:-
Indian Thick-knee*
Grey-headed Lapwing*
Malaysian Plover*
White-faced Plover*
Greater Painted Snipe*
Pheasant-tailed Jacana*
Bronze-winged Jacana*
Far Eastern Curlew
Spoon-billed Sandpiper*
Asiatic Dowitcher*
Pin-tailed Snipe
Nordmann's Greenshank*

All the best

Paul

Preparing for a trip to a new area of the world for me & wondering what waders I may add so I did a quick stockcheck from this last post.

In 2023 so far, seven additions from a Costa Rican trip - Double-striped Thick-knee, Black-necked Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Wilson's Plover, Northern Jacana, Marbled Godwit & Wandering Tattler.

Plus eight additions from a Peruvian trip - Blackish Oystercatcher, Pied Lapwing, Andean Lapwing, Collared Plover, Snowy Plover, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, Wattled Jacana & Surfbird.

On eBird taxonomy, I am now on 120 wader species including Small Buttonquail. This does not include Hudsonian Whimbrel or the Lesser Sandplover split despite being IOC species.

My British wader list is now up to 78 species on IOC taxonomy including Hudsonian Whimbrel, the Lesser Sandplover split & on the basis that Grey-headed Lapwing is accepted. I had already seen the Lapwing in Thailand.

A quick tally looking at Shorebirds for the gaps gave me 102 species in there that I have not seen but one of those is now considered to be a hybrid (Cox's Sandpiper) & four are considered to be extinct - Canarian Black Oystercatcher, Jerdon's Courser, Eskimo Curlew & Slender-billed Curlew - so 97 species to target from that book. Possibly up to twenty of those before the end of the year if things go to plan on my forthcoming trip...

All the best

Paul

Edit - never really done the World List thing until recently - but just found that my first Black-necked Stilt was actually 21st April 2004 at Southport near Orlando, Florida - on a very rare earlier trip outside the Western Palearctic. So it wasn't an addition this year.

Edit 2 - well, I just found an even earlier Black-necked Stilt in April 1996 from Antigua.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Bit of fun 😊. So if we're running from Buttonquail to coursers I get:-

Buttonquail 9
Thick-knees 10
Sheathbills 1
Magellanic Plover 1
Oycs 10
Ibisbill 1
Stilts 'n Avos 10
Plovers 55
Egyptian Plover 0
Painted Snipe 3
Jacanas 7
Plains Wanderer 1
Seedsnipe 3
Sandpipers etc 72
Crab Plover 1
Coursers 'n prats 11

=195

 

[Paul Chapman]

Bit of fun 😊. So if we're running from Buttonquail to coursers I get:-

Buttonquail 9
Thick-knees 10
Sheathbills 1
Magellanic Plover 1
Oycs 10
Ibisbill 1
Stilts 'n Avos 10
Plovers 55
Egyptian Plover 0
Painted Snipe 3
Jacanas 7
Plains Wanderer 1
Seedsnipe 3
Sandpipers etc 72
Crab Plover 1
Coursers 'n prats 11

=195

Beyond impressive... A few real targets for me there - Egyptian Plover, Ibisbill, Plains Wanderer, etc.

Lucky I haven't got an obsessive personality as otherwise I could imagine getting the bit between my teeth. I must distract myself with something. Maybe owls whilst watching the rugby.

All the best

Paul