Hope someone can help me identify this small shorebird (wader?) that I photographed on Windang beach in the Illawarra of NSW in January. I want to submit one of the photos to a wildlife photography competition so I'd like to make sure I have the identification right but I'm not sure if it is a Sanderling, Stint or Plover?
the bird the background is a Silver Gull
Nice photos, and good luck with the competition. As for what it is, all those shorebirds are an utter pain to differentiate. I think yours is a Red Necked Stint though.
Your first photo shows a black shoulder patch... typical of Sanderling. Also, your photos, in sequence, show the bird running back and forth to the waters edge... also typical behaviour of Sanderling.
Sanderlings will quickly feed as the waves retreat, picking up anything that is washed up, then will run back up the beach as the next wave moves in. Did you observe this?
Brandon (aka ihewman)
Hi Brandon, thanks for the response
Yes, it was running back and forth as the waves washed up and back
It does look quite brownish in the second photo though. I thought that Sanderlings were mostly grey and white?
I'll 2nd Sanderling.