edenwatcher
Well-known member
As I posted on the rare bird forum, on Friday afternoon whilst trying to boost our meagre trip list for a week on Tenerife (hard core birding limited by the age range of the party - 10 to 96!) I visited a small pool and barranco a little more than a kilometre east of Los Abrigos, south of Tenerife Sur airport. When I first arrived it appeared birdless, but then a snipe got up and I picked up a small Charadrius plover which I took to be 1st winter ringed. I was then diverted by a dog flushing both little ringed plover and common sandpiper. When the LRP returned to the pool it associated loosely with the ringed type. I took a number of photos of both birds and walked back to the hotel.
Something felt wrong about the "ringed" plover and when I looked at the photos and checked for online info.
The bird matched a whole suite of features for semi-p as given in Guillermo Rodriguez's excellent article on Birding Frontiers http://birdingfrontiers.com/2016/11/15/juvenile-semipalmated-plovers-variability-of-key-features/:
dark lores meeting the bill above the gape
reddish orange base to bill (especially lower mandible)
thin yellow eye-ring
small size (same as LRP)
on the back of the camera I was not clear about the extent of any palmations and did not hear it call.
I posted this info on the European rarities thread of the rare bird forum and to the the rare birds in the Canary Islands FB page.
We flew home yesterday but had time to return yesterday morning. The same two birds appeared to be present. The ID of the ringed type appears much less clear cut - the bill base seems less extensive and bright, the eye ring is much less obvious and the breast band does not seem to meet in the middle and is clearly darker than the rest of the bird. Also the plumage appears less worn.
It flew out to the shore (where several ringed plovers were present) giving a single call which sounded not unlike corresponding semi-p calls.
Was it the same bird but the harsher morning light made it appear different?
This post contains photos taken on Friday afternoon including palmations which seem clear enough. The next will contain photos taken yesterday.
So is the Friday bird a semi-p and is yesterday's bird the same?
Rob
Something felt wrong about the "ringed" plover and when I looked at the photos and checked for online info.
The bird matched a whole suite of features for semi-p as given in Guillermo Rodriguez's excellent article on Birding Frontiers http://birdingfrontiers.com/2016/11/15/juvenile-semipalmated-plovers-variability-of-key-features/:
dark lores meeting the bill above the gape
reddish orange base to bill (especially lower mandible)
thin yellow eye-ring
small size (same as LRP)
on the back of the camera I was not clear about the extent of any palmations and did not hear it call.
I posted this info on the European rarities thread of the rare bird forum and to the the rare birds in the Canary Islands FB page.
We flew home yesterday but had time to return yesterday morning. The same two birds appeared to be present. The ID of the ringed type appears much less clear cut - the bill base seems less extensive and bright, the eye ring is much less obvious and the breast band does not seem to meet in the middle and is clearly darker than the rest of the bird. Also the plumage appears less worn.
It flew out to the shore (where several ringed plovers were present) giving a single call which sounded not unlike corresponding semi-p calls.
Was it the same bird but the harsher morning light made it appear different?
This post contains photos taken on Friday afternoon including palmations which seem clear enough. The next will contain photos taken yesterday.
So is the Friday bird a semi-p and is yesterday's bird the same?
Rob