ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Birds of the islands and waters of the South Pacific.
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:26 pm

Hi folks, just back from a trip to Sumatra, Borneo and Indonesian Papua.

Found a great spot on the north coast of Papua between Jayapura city and the PNG border. Would be appreciative of some thoughts on the ID of the birds below. Thoughts from those with field experience of these species please, not coffee-table-bird-book conjecture.
cheers

1. Long-billed or Short-billed Dowitcher? (if the latter its a new record for Indonesia; if the former, then its I think a 2nd record for Indonesia (after 1 in Bali) and a 1st for Indonesian Papua (notwithstanding a record in PNG and another in Malaysian Borneo).

Dowitcher3.jpg
Dowitcher3.jpg (285.28 KiB) Viewed 5199 times


Dowitcher2.jpg
Dowitcher2.jpg (306.12 KiB) Viewed 5199 times


Dowitcher1.jpg
Dowitcher1.jpg (59.18 KiB) Viewed 5199 times
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:29 pm

more pics.....

Dowitcher6.jpg
Dowitcher6.jpg (169.01 KiB) Viewed 5198 times


Dowitcher5.jpg
Dowitcher5.jpg (457.98 KiB) Viewed 5198 times
Dowitcher4.jpg
Dowitcher4.jpg (473.38 KiB) Viewed 5198 times
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:35 pm

2...Red-necked Phalarope right?
Indo 2017 A 561.JPG
Indo 2017 A 561.JPG (437.45 KiB) Viewed 5195 times
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:41 pm

3. and what about these sandpipers?? The place was dominated by Wood Sands and Sharp-tails. Most were transitioning into breeding plumage and looked odd. The birds on the RH top of the 1st photo have bills that were much longer and down-ward angled then would usually be expected of Sharp-tails, but are they simply females? The birds in the 2nd pic were almost Great Knot looking but too small.... odd....

sandpiper1.jpg
sandpiper1.jpg (188.17 KiB) Viewed 5195 times


Sandpiper2.jpg
Sandpiper2.jpg (168.47 KiB) Viewed 5195 times
Last edited by andrewcrossland on Sat Apr 22, 2017 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:53 pm

4. Ok, so I should know this one, but I took the pics in a hurry on far zoom and didn't really study the bird. I thought it was a marsh sand and just wanted to document its occurrence as its an uncommon species in this area. Looking at the pics though it seems to be too pale, and I wonder if its not a funny looking Pied Stilt fledgling? There were over 200 adult Pied Stilts at the site and many were giving nest/chick protection behaviour. I didn't find any nests but only had sandals on so weary of snake bites if I trampled all around the overgrown pond edges. The significance of a stilt fledgling is that it would only be the 2nd or 3rd time breeding of this species has been documented on the island of New Guinea and I think it would the first record for Indonesian Papua. So, just want to get some wider thoughts on this one. I'm fresh off the plane and heavily jet-lagged, so have posted this rather than going out into the field and having a think about the stilt v Marshie ID thing..

bird1.jpg
bird1.jpg (91.34 KiB) Viewed 5197 times


bird2.jpg
bird2.jpg (131.14 KiB) Viewed 5197 times
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:55 pm

a more distant pic, gives a better size perspective...

Indo 2017 A 531.JPG
Indo 2017 A 531.JPG (225.04 KiB) Viewed 5198 times


and a general pic of one of the groups of Pied Stilts

Indo 2017 A 590.JPG
Indo 2017 A 590.JPG (310.65 KiB) Viewed 5198 times
User avatar
RussCannings
Posts: 1216
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2014 5:23 am

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby RussCannings » Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:43 am

Hi Andrew, I'm typing this on my phone in a cafe in Gisborne so will post again with more details when I get home in a few days. Your dowitcher looks good for Short-tailed based on what I can see (loral angle, bill, and plumage) but will explain more later. I'd say Red-necked and sharpies they be, and the last bird looks fine for Marsh Sand coming into alternate (note mantle feathers with dark centres and silver tips), albeit with a big bill for a marshie.

Russ
andrewcrossland
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby andrewcrossland » Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:08 pm

Thanks Russ, im looking foward to your longer posting. I reckon I've seen more Asian dowitchers than anyone else alive or dead (well that's want i them to write on my grave stone after half a lifetime surveying that species ), but this is the first long or short billed dowitcher I've ever seen, so keen for any other north American wader watchers to give me their ID thoughts. Don't want to get it wrong when i submit the record to the indonrsisn ornithological union. Only long billed dowitcher has been recorded previously in SE ASIA as far as I know.
User avatar
erikforsyth
Posts: 201
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 9:16 pm

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby erikforsyth » Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:56 am

Hi Andrew

well done with the Short-billed Dowitcher - a new bird for Indonesia (as far as I can find). Long-billed has two records - North Borneo and Bali, reference Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago by Eaton, Rheindt, Brickle, van Balen.

cheers
Erik
Rockjumper Birding Tours
www.rockjumperbirding.com
Jan
Posts: 1871
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 am
Location: Christchurch

Re: ID thoughts wanted on some Papuan waders

Postby Jan » Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:49 pm

Sharpies also hybridise with Curlew Sands don't they? The downcurved bill ones don't look like regular Sharpies to me.
Wow what a trip you must have had.

Return to “South Pacific Birds”