A few more winged creatures from my last birdwatching trip... that feels so long ago! This time, focusing more on the little ones.
I normally have a hard time to ID shorebirds, and they're not my favourite species to birdwatch at all! Some species are very similar, and not that many colours: mainly blacks, whites, and various degrees of grey and brown. Still, among those there are some fairly easy to identify, and other species that can't really be included in "shorebirds", but do share the same habitat.
These are one of the easiest ones! That black and white pattern and the beak shape, curving upwards, give them away. And they're normally found in groups.
Males have bigger beaks and different head marks, although it's not that easy to spot these differences, at least for me.
This was my typical birdwatching landscape, in southern Portugal.
And these are the one I can hardy identify!
By the size, it looks to me an eurasian whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus. That are a handfull of species with that kind of big, curvy beak. And the fact that in the time these photos were taken, there were still birds with juvenile plummages, makes them harder to identify.
I know, I know... just admiring them could be enough, but the geek in me wants to know EXACTLY what species am I seeing! 😁😁
This one is one if the "easy" shorebirds:
There are only three species of plovers in Portugal; this is one of the species that will have a full collar when adult. Here is an adult, with the full collar:
Another species was hanging around with the plover, the sanderling.
Both adults and juvelines were here, the adults have the reddish-brown breast.
This is a very common one, and can easily be seen in beaches, even the ones slightly crowded.
And to wrap it up, a surprise for me: I didn't have my binoculars when I saw this one, only the camera. And only after I took the photo and gave it a decent look, have I found out I had seen a new species!
The not so good part? I have no idea what it is!! 🤣 Definitely have to brush up my ID skills. If you know this species... do let me know!
Happy birding everyone!
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