A brown-backed winter wader?

[Spadge]

I am hoping you can help me with this mystery wader, sighted Monday the 1st.
Field notes made on the spot say as follows: -
"A medium wader with Brown back, white under, straight bill"

In detail : -
the size is smaller than Curlew but larger than Redshank, which were present 100m or so away
The back was a golden brown with that scaly look that many waders have and colour changed to near black where the tips of the folded wings blended with the tail.
Belly was bright white but the bird was posed side-on to me and I didn't see much of its chest
Its bill was straight and, in terms of overall body proportions, medium length, sandpiper-ish, say.

Even with binoculars, the legs were too narrow to make out any colour so all I can say about them is that they weren't obviously red, green, pink or anything else which would be usefully diagnostic. Sorry about that.

Environment is an estuarine stretch of river with wide expanses of mud at low tide. A recent full moon meant the tide was lower than I had seen on previous visits with extra mud flats exposed and this bird was stood on one of these.

thanks in advance,
Spadge

[Merlin]

Have tried looking up Golden Plover for this bird ?

[Twitcheruth]

How about Ruff?

[Spadge]

Hi Merlin,

Originally Posted by Merlin

Have tried looking up Golden Plover for this bird ?

I didn't look it up on this occasion, no, because they are the wrong shape.

S

[Spadge]

Hi Ruth,

Originally Posted by Twitcheruth

How about Ruff?

Good suggestion. I will have to mosey around the internet for more photos to see if those help me.

I also hope to set eyes on it again in the same location and maybe grab a photo.

In the meantime, is there anything unseasonal about Ruff being in UK in winter?

S

[Merlin]

You could also try looking up the Godwits ?

[Twitcheruth]

Originally Posted by Spadge

Hi Ruth,



Good suggestion. I will have to mosey around the internet for more photos to see if those help me.

I also hope to set eyes on it again in the same location and maybe grab a photo.

In the meantime, is there anything unseasonal about Ruff being in UK in winter?

S

I always get confused with Ruffs Paul as the books say they are both summer and winter visitors.....I think they pass through in Spring and Autumn so more likely to be Merlins idea of a Godwit!
Tho your description of a "scaly look" still makes me think of Ruff.
Hope you find it!

[Spadge]

Hi Merlin

Originally Posted by Merlin

You could also try looking up the Godwits ?

In my guidebook, the Black Tailed Godwit illustration is partly overlaid with the summer plumage but the back is depicted in a muddy greenish brown. To confuse things the text insists "Winter: Grey; long straight bill; black tail" but the grey could be referring to the cheeks neck and breast areas where the summer chesnut colour is replaced by pale grey.

Black tail certainly matches whatever I saw but its back and wings were a biscuity colour. Leucistic BTG is a bit of a long shot though and I would definately need a photo to make that ID stick.

Bar-Tailed Godwit is depicted with an upward curve to the bill which does not match my sighting and I'd have easily noted that stripey tail if it had been like that.

@Ruth

maybe scaly was too strong a word but it was a shorthand way to indicate that each feather had a lighter edge to it.

I haven't revisited this site for a while and my chances of seeing this bird a second time are slim but, in terms of Birdtrack data, recording a species which does not frequent a site isn't scientifically useful. Not recording something at all, because I couldn't identify it properly is not such a great loss.

cheers

S