This stirs memories of a time before there were any field guides, a state of affairs beyond the comprehension of today’s birdwatchers. I remember trying to separate the 2 species on Fishermen’s Island near Port Moresby. Roy Mackay’s comment on the Lesser in his ‘Birds of Port Moresby and District’ (1970) was: ‘This is one of our most common shorebirds and is seen in varying numbers throughout the year. A close look at this and the preceding species should reveal that the Greater Sand Plover has a larger and longer bill. A fine difference to be sure.’ Just look more closely, Harv.
From: Harvey Perkins [
Sent: Wednesday, 28 January 2015 8:15 PM
To: ; Canberra Birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Sand Plovers at Lake Wollumboola
With the spate of twitching of the White-rumped Sandpiper at Lake Wollumboola over the past three weeks, there have been quite a few reports of Lesser Sand Plovers there as well.
After I posted on my blog about my trip there, I had an email from another Birding-auser who thought the sand plovers he had seen were Greaters, not Lessers. That crystalised a niggling doubt I had, so I had a closer look at my photos. I've now put up a second post with these photos and conclude that all the sand plovers I saw were in fact Greaters. At the risk of potential embarrassment, I'd love to hear from anyone who'd like to either confirm or shoot down my diagnosis...
