Hi Leo
Very topical! This is a Red Knot, a first-year bird judging from what appear to be some retained juvenile feathers in the wing. Sanderling would have whiter, unmarked underparts, black legs, and a comparatively shorter bill. Also your photo shows a hind toe which Sanderling lack – I think they are the only small sandpiper that doesn’t have one.
cheers
Steve
From: Leo Berzins [
Sent: Saturday, 27 November 2010 3:18 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Shorebird id help sought
The attached photo was taken on Pambula Beach ten days ago. With my very limited shorebird experience, I tentatively identified it as a Sanderling and posted it as such on my flickr collection http://www.flickr.com/photos/0ystercatcher/ . This identification has been questioned by a fellow user of flickr, so I thought I would tap in to the vast collective knowledge of this esteemed chatline. All comments and suggestions welcome.
