Hi all
Took the following over the backwaters today - didn't think we would see much as it was bitterly bitterly cold, but there were an assortment of geese and other waders - trouble is I'm not entirley sure what they are!
Shelducks?
Lapwing?
what about this?
and what is this - sorry not the closest of shots - some type of sandpiper? (have another photo that might be a bit better if this one is no good)
and the next 2 another goose which isn't in my book so not sure -
There were many others but so far away that I couldn't get a close enough shot.
I know I have come to the right place and many of you can help me out.
Thanks
Regards
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Hmmm....Buzzard, was that fundamental to the id'ing? should I have mentioned that before? Whoops!......sorry.
Anyways I've gone back and found below two other photos, in the first, I believe the bird on the left to be the same as in my previous photo. I think you can disregard my comment about them being loads of the same as I have just had another look (2nd photo) at the birds on the mudflat and they obviously are not, although I don't know what they are as they aren't in my book either (really must get myself another book!).
Unfortunately when I load the photos up they are appear smaller on here than on my computer (even without the zooming tool)
Thanks guys for your efforts - will try to be a bit more descriptive in the future.
and here's the second one
Hi Kezmo
The top photo clears up the original mystery nicely. You've got (from left to right) a grey plover; a redshank; a dunlin; and a lapwing. Nice going to get four wader species in one close-framed shot! Grey plovers have a 'marbled' back pattern unlike the plainer grey of most other winter waders. Also, in your original shot it looked too large-headed for one of the smaller 'calidris' type waders like dunlin, knot or sanderling. And finally I couldn't see any sign of a longish bill in spite of the fact it was facing right.
The second photo is another nice challenge. Based on the size of the bird on top of the bank at the right hand end of the flock, which is definitely a curlew, I would say that most of the rest are knots (about 80% sure) or possibly bar-tailed godwits (about (20% uncertainty!) with three or four dunlins in amongst them as well - at the water's edge towards the left you can see three grey waders which are definitely smaller, I think these are dunlins.
We love a challenge!
Wow Colin - thank you very much. What a busy day I had and didn't even realise it!!!
Can I ask a silly question? what makes a plover? In my book there 5 different types, Golden, Grey and then the 2 ringed and Kentish - all look completely different waders to me. What links them?
Sorry I should have said my question is open to anyone who can solve my confusion! thanks
Brilliant thread Kezmo, looks like you had a great time. I can only agree with Colin on all counts, he is as they say 'The Man' , I have no Brent shots yet, a little jealous on that, well done and thanks for sharing.
John :-)
For viewing or photography right place right time is everything. I'd rather be in the right place with poor kit than have the best kit and be in the wrong place.
Thanks John for clicking the button - I forget to do that!
As someone once said, the only silly questions are the ones you DON'T ask, because then you'll never know...
The birds we know as 'plovers' all belong to a single family of closely related wading birds known as "Charadriidae". My copy of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Ornithology says there are 62 species around the world. If you look at the images in your book and squint a bit you should be able to see they do share some common physical characteristics even though the feather patterns differ (though not that much - little ringed and ringed plovers are notorious confusion species for beginners, and if you throw in other similar species from around the world like Wilson's plover, killdeer and long-billed plover you begin to see the family resemblance!)
As well as the plovers we call plovers, the family also contains the "lapwings" - which are just bigger plovers called something slightly different in English! We have one lapwing species in Britain (aka 'green plover' in some people's eyes), but there are many others around the world. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to see grey-faced lapwing in China, for example. Many have quite vibrant colour combinations and broad wing tips. But if you mentally remove the tufts and crests and wattles that many lapwings flaunt you can appreciate they are plovers under the skin...
A typical plover species has a short bill (much shorter than many other wader families anyway) which it uses to pick up food from the surface of mud, sand etc or just beneath it. Many plovers are active, 'visual' feeders - they will stand for a second, scanning a few feet ahead for visible signs of invertebrate food, then run forwards, stop, 'tip over' and pick up the item before repeating the process. This kind of action is easy to identify at extreme range as 'plover like' even if you can't identify the species. Most nest in a bare scrape in earth, sand or shingle, relying on good camouflage for concealment.
Physically plovers tend to be medium-legged, quite rotund in form, and many have banded patterns of black and white especially laterally across the head and chest. Their voices are often shrill, melodic whistles. For my money, the calls of a flock of winter lapwings and golden plovers is one of the most magical sounds of the English winter landscape.
Thanks Colin for that really helpful explanation about the Plover - Now that I know what to look out for I can't wait to see if I remember in future and put it to the test. Must admit would really like to see a Ringed Plover they look really cute!
Thanks to you too Buzzard for clarifying the others for me. These are all birds I can now tick off my list. Cheers!