Re: Little stint Kaitorete spit tip
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 3:12 pm
Hi all,
Just a follow-up on the stint after DT and I saw it on Tuesday.
I've seen a few hundred boreal autumnal Little Stints (LIST) in my previous life in Britain, and never seen anything like this bird. Almost all LIST in Britain in Sept/Oct are juveniles, with white "braces" and a dark centred crown, bright enough scapulars and wing coverts to make them look "colourful" compared to the normal (grey-toned) Red-necked Stints we get here. When looking at the photos of the Kidd's bird, it appears to be exactly like that, so I just don't get why it should be considered as an adult? (VERY happy to be enlightened).
The Ellesmere bird is, as far as I can ascertain, in perfect boreal SPRING-time breeding plumage. It isn't colourful - it glows! Like a little ginger light-bulb. And its braces aren't white, they are golden. It's a simply brilliant (in more ways than one) little gem.
So the obvious question is this : How does it come to be in full breeding plumage at exactly the wrong time of year? Has it been lurking in the Southern Hemisphere long enough to change it's moult to our seasons??
Dunno!
cheers
Just a follow-up on the stint after DT and I saw it on Tuesday.
I've seen a few hundred boreal autumnal Little Stints (LIST) in my previous life in Britain, and never seen anything like this bird. Almost all LIST in Britain in Sept/Oct are juveniles, with white "braces" and a dark centred crown, bright enough scapulars and wing coverts to make them look "colourful" compared to the normal (grey-toned) Red-necked Stints we get here. When looking at the photos of the Kidd's bird, it appears to be exactly like that, so I just don't get why it should be considered as an adult? (VERY happy to be enlightened).
The Ellesmere bird is, as far as I can ascertain, in perfect boreal SPRING-time breeding plumage. It isn't colourful - it glows! Like a little ginger light-bulb. And its braces aren't white, they are golden. It's a simply brilliant (in more ways than one) little gem.
So the obvious question is this : How does it come to be in full breeding plumage at exactly the wrong time of year? Has it been lurking in the Southern Hemisphere long enough to change it's moult to our seasons??
Dunno!
cheers