Thanks David,
You are correct that I have conflated two birds. Oystercatcher1 has
an orange bill with mud on its tip. Oystercatcher2 has a red bill an
mud on its feet. I rooted around in my photolibrary and found another
pix that I had discarded because it wasn't as sharp as
Oystercatcher1. It was taken 4 seconds before Oystercatcher2. It
shows a different oystercatcher [I can tell because it is in a
different position relative to the vegetation] with an almost
completely white underwing and a much longer and broader upper
wingbar]. I have placed this photo on the birdforum thread.
Regards, Laurie.
On 27/01/2011, at 10:15 AM, David James wrote:
Hi Laurie,
It looks to me like you have photographed a first summer/winter SIPO
(in flight) and a juvenile AUSPO (standing). Nice shots and a nice
find.
The two flight shots show a bird with white extending all the way up
the back and ending in a characteristic point (due to the way the
scapulars lie over the upper back). This is diagnostic of SIPO. In
addition the wingbar is broad and extends to include all of the
visible part of the inner two secondaries (i.e the bar extends to
the trailing edge of the wing near the base).
In 'Oystercatcher2.jpg' there is evidence of wear contrast and
moult. The primaries are browner than the innerwing indicating that
the feathers are much older. The extent of this contrast suggests
that the primaries and primary coverts are juvenile plumage and
secondary coverts are 1st winter or plumage attained in a later
partial moult. The outer secondary coverts appear to be moulting so
the bird is likely to be starting the moult to 2nd year (2nd winter)
plumage.
the standing bird is in fresh juvenile plumage showing extensive
buff tips to the upperwing coverts and scapulars, that will wear off
quite quickly. The two innermost secondaries are partly black and
partly white, a feature possibly suggestive of SIPO but in fact
normal for juvenile AUSPO. The back is not quite visible, but it is
not white like the flying bird.
1 or 2 SIPOs were seen regularly at Manly Boat Harbour in the late
1990's and until at least mid 2000, not sure of their recent status
there. I haven't heard of any records in recent times (though my
ears are not close to the ground), ,maybe because few people are
looking for them?
--- On Thu, 27/1/11, Laurie Knight <> wrote:
From: Laurie Knight <>
Subject: [Birding-Aus] An Unusual Oystercatcher at the Manly Wader
Roost [SEQ]
To: "Birding Aus" <>
Received: Thursday, 27 January, 2011, 7:30 AM
I was wandering around the MWR yesterday afternoon, following Mike
Carter's tip that RNS don't normally moult at this time of year.
I came across a couple of Pied Oystercatchers on the harbour side of
the tidal pond, which was unusual as they normally roost on on the
island. One was clearly an immature. I photographed the other one
as it took off and flew over to the island. It is also probably
immature and had more white on its upper wing panel and under wing
than I think is the norm for AusPOs [the tiny illustration in P&K is
of little use]. A quick review of the web found very few pictures
of birds with their wings raised.
I have placed a couple of pix on birdforum http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=190903
. The first pic shows the upper wing panel partially reaching the
edge of the wing at the body end - the feather ends are part white &
part black, like a zebra. I think there are three possibilities -
an odd APO, a SIPO or a SIPO-APO hybrid.
I would be interested to hear the views of people familiar with SIPOs.
Regards, Laurie.
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