Saturday 25 August 2018

Green Sandpipers at Bough Beech


On the north pool there were four Green Sandpipers and a juvenile Dunlin. The Green Sandpipers were distinguishable by the overall bulky appearance (NOT quite Audrey Hepburnish as in the Wood Sandpiper), the eyestripe being restricted to the front of the eye, not extending behind it, the upperparts dark, little speckled (but the juveniles are a lighter brown and their backs are more speckled) with a fairly clearly delineated breast stripe above the white belly.

This particular bird appears to be a juvenile, as described above. The head is quite a bit lighter than the back and wings. The speckles on the wings are in fairly regular lines.


The eyestripe is most visible and obvious from directly in front of the bird.


There is a hint of the bird's white rump in most of the photographs taken, as also in these two below. The barring on the end of the tail can also be picked out.


The white eye ring around the black eye is more obvious in some photographs than others,


One feature of the species remarked upon in ID guides is the dark underwing seen when the wing is raised. This was seen (very blurrily) during a video taken, when the bird raised its wings upright for a second or two just after a heron overflew. The darkness of the underwing contrasted very strongly with the white of the belly. In a close view it will be seen to consist of blackish white-edged scales.

The bill seems to be lighter at the base, darker at the tip in a few photographs. The legs are said to be greenish, but just appear mid-toned, even when not covered by mud, in the fairly distant photos taken by me.

Green Sandpipers are often solitary on passage, but small groups, as seen today are not unusual.