kestrel

an American birder Andrew,found a bird at Rudong,Jiangsu province,China,which he suspected it as a Semipalmated Sandpiper,the photo and video attached here.anyone who famillar with the american waders? is it a Semipalmated Sandpiper? Thanks！



The following is from Andrew' email
......Yesterday, while surveying some fish ponds near Haiyinshi Temple, I observed a peep that I am very sure is a Semipalmated Sandpiper. This conclusion stems from my experience with the said species, my field observations, photos and video.

It was the behavior of this bird that caught my attention as it fed with Red-necked Stints at a fish pond.

My field notes are summarized during my observation as follows:

Small calidrid displaying aggressive behavior towards nearby Red-necked
Stints, if they got too close to where it fed.  Since my wader survey in China,
I have not seen Red-necked Stints chase each other.

Size looks good for a male Semipalmated Sandpiper.  Primaries were not longer than the tail length as in Red-necked Stints.

This bird did not show the same busy feeding behavior as Red-necked Stints. Seemed a bit more deliberate or was it my imagination).

Bill seemed to be blunt tipped and a careful study of the legs appear to
show semi palmated webbing. (A photo appears to support this observation)

I managed to capture photos and a short video clip before the birds picked up and I could not relocate it there after.

[ Last edited by kestrel at 17/04/2014 14:24 ]