The Wonderful World of Waders

Identification of waders is a tricky business and not many bird watchers are keen to indulge themselves into the details of their winter feathers or plumage colors. Ironically not all birders are enthused enough to watch the waders either as many of them have often 'placed' themselves in some really inhospitable places such as on a far distance mudflats and under the temperature which at times exceeding 30+ Celsius. Besides that their dull brownish and white colors during their winter break here have not really attracted many admirers too. 

Here are some photos of the waders which were taken during my recent solo trips to the mudflats, tributaries etc. Just sit back and be mesmerised by them.

Eurasian Curlew

Great Knot

Common Redshank

A group of Red-Necked Stint and a lone Broad-billed Sandpiper

Whimbrel

Curlew Sandpiper

Greater Sand Plover and Lesser Sand Plover

You can actually tell their differences here from their morphological distinctiveness. The one on the right with a shorter bill, slightly smaller eyes and body was a Lesser Sand Plover. But to know whether it was a C. mongolus or a 'C. artrifrons (tibetan)' you may need some expert advice or maybe some molecular evidence? Despite their common presence here, we have so much more to learn about these fascinating birds for example on their ecology, their behavior, their transcontinental migration patterns etc. There are always some new discovery to be made about them. For instant most of us would believe/expect them all to fly off to the North by June or perhaps in April but i have just discovered that some of these waders are around in their wintering grounds through out the year ! That would set me off for my next adventure i.e to see for myself whether they are still presence on those supposedly 'vacant' months.

Ruddy Turnstone

Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Common Greenshank

To take the above photos of the Common Greenshanks, i had to seek permission to pass through a villager's garden and then dodged under some viper infested mangroves ! Crazy fella? Well you have not seen the British yet !

Those little whitish bellied birds in the foreground were actually my lifers for this year (2017) - yup ! they are 'Nordmann's Greenshank' (Tringa guttifer).

Here are other shorebirds which actually do not really wade:

Great Egret

Red-Wattled Lapwing

This was the first 'non-common' bird i saw when i first took up bird watching. 

Peek a boo ! It landed just above my head before realising that some earthling is pointing a camera at him.

Collared Kingfisher

HAPPY WADER WATCHING !