fredag den 10. februar 2012

White-rumped Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), 15/7-2009, Constable Point, East Greenland


Observers: Henrik Skov, Flemming Merkel, David Boertmann og Rasmus Due Nielsen

Constable Point was used as a base for conducting aerial surveys in Eastern- and North-eastern Greenland during the latter part of July in 2009. A good population of breeding waders are to be found in the area mainly Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlins especially in the area just east of the small airport.

We arrived at Constable Point in the evening of the 15th of July. The weather was perfect with blue skies and no wind at all. Before calling it a day I wanted to go for small walk, just to get a feel for which birds that were currently in the nearby area. From the Airport I could se a small lake with what looked to be a considerable amount of waders and some Glaucous Gulls. Territorial Dunlins were numerous on the way down there and one Red-necked Phalarope was also seen (a Greenland first for me).

At the lake I first concentrated on a large flock of waders in the northern part. The first bird I looked at seemed to have a very long body and no apparent black markings on the belly. Moving a little bit closer I could even see fine stripes on the flanks and a brown hood. I could not believe my luck and quickly managed to take a few pictures of the bird. Before moving any closer I just wanted to check the rest of the nearby flock. There was one more even closer! On this bird I could even see the arrow shaped markings on the side of the bird as it was feeding closer. The bird flew a few meters and I managed to catch a glimpse of the white rump. Thereafter I went quickly back to Hotel Hilton to tell the others about the birds and we enjoyed them for a subsequent 40 minutes before returning to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

No apparent differences in plumages were noted between the two birds. The birds were the 4th and 5th for East Greenland.
15/7 White-rumped Sandpiper bird number one.

15/7 White-rumped Sandpiper bird number two.

15/7 White-rumped Sandpiper bird number two.
RDN

1 kommentar:

Yann sagde ...

Beautiful! And surprising that they haven't been recorded more frequently in Greenland.