Birds of the Shore - Shanghai, China

Birds of the Shore - Shanghai, China - May 5th to 18th

Bar-tailed Godwit #29 - one of the more abundant birds on the tidal mudflats...here males in fine breeding plumage...
Bar-tailed Godwit #30 - ...here a male (left) and female (right) in breeding plumage...
Bar-tailed Godwit #32 - ...here males mostly in breeding plumage...
Bar-tailed Godwit #33 - ...another male in breeding plumage...
Bar-tailed Godwit #34 - ...here one of the few tagged birds we saw...
Bar-tailed Godwit #37 - ...and here a female in flight
Black-tailed Godwit #19 - one of only a few found among the many fish ponds
Eurasian Oystercatcher #25 - one of only two birds seen...this one in the fish ponds near the tidal mudflats
Swinhoe's Snipe #4 - at the Nanhui Refuge...although Solitary Snipe can be eliminated by plumage, the ID is based mainly on the long tail projection (eliminating Pin-tailed Snipe), and the broad supercilium in front of the eye, the narrowing of the eyeline before it gets to the eye, and the relatively short bill (eliminating Common Snipe)...comments on the ID are most welcome!
Gray-headed Lapwing #6 - an adult trying to lead us away from a nest site in a fallow field
Gray-headed Lapwing #9 - a few birds were always found at the various fish ponds we visited
Gray-headed Lapwing #11 - here an impatient gaze as we drive by...
Gray-headed Lapwing #14 - ...this fledged chick ran across the road and down into this drainage ditch
Black-bellied (Gray) Plover #54 - here a Black-bellied (Gray) Plover in flight showing the diagnostic black "armpits"...
Pacific Golden-Plover #1 - ...and here a good flight comparison between Black-bellied (Gray) Plover (left) and Pacific Golden-Plover (right)...here both in breeding plumage...
Pacific Golden-Plover #8 - ...and here molting into breeding plumage
Kentish Plover #1 - Kentish Plovers are the Eurasian cousins of the American Snowy Plover...here this male is acting like we were near its nest at the Nanhui Refuge...
Kentish Plover #5 - ...and here a female stands along the side of one of the dike roads at the Nanhui Refuge...comments on the ID are welcome
Kentish Plover #8 - and here a male feeds in a drained fish pond
Lesser Sand (Mongolian) Plover #4 - scanning through the thousands of Red-necked Stints can turn up other birds...here a Lesser Sand Plover in the upper right
Lesser Sand (Mongolian) Plover #18 - we found a spot where the high tide came very close to the sea wall...this Lesser Sand Plover was one of the birds pushed inward by the tide...
Lesser Sand (Mongolian) Plover #23 - ...and here another
Little Ringed Plover #2 - the golden eye ring (skin around the eye socket) distinguishes the Little Ringed Plover from its cousin, the Common Ringed Plover...here foraging in a drained fish pond
Common Greenshank #12 - an uncommon bird of the fish ponds
Nordmann's (Spotted) Greenshank #4 - a distant shot of two birds...about five or six were present on the tidal mudflats
Common Redshank #19 - Common Redshanks were usually found in the fish ponds...
Common Redshank #22 - ...and here in a tidal flat along the road
Spotted Redshank #9 - one of my favorite birds, the Spotted Redshank probably undergoes the most dramatic molt of any shorebird...in winter it is gray above and white below, but in breeding plumage...WOW!
Marsh Sandpiper #10 - is this bird trying to compete with the Stilts for most awkward looking?
Wood Sandpiper #18 - small numbers of birds were found in the various fish ponds we visited
Common Sandpiper #16 - as its name implies, this was one of the more common birds at the Nanhui Refuge and around the Dongtai/Dafeng fish ponds
Terek Sandpiper #5 - an uncommon bird found on the tidal mudflats and estuaries
Dunlin #38 - there were lots of Dunlin mixed in with the other shorebirds...here two birds caught in flight
Great Knot #2 - a bad photo, but it shows the size comparison between Great Knots on the left and a single Red Knot on the right
Great Knot #8 - two birds taking flight
Great Knot #12 - ...the heads of the Five Families...Don Corleone keeps his distance, however
Great Knot #14 - on the tidal mudflats...Great Knots were also one of the more numerous birds on the tidal mudflats
Red Knot #34 - one of only two Red Knots found on the tidal mudflats...the "hole" in the breast plumage is the result of recent preening...
Red Knot #37 - ...here stretching its wings
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper #7 - most of the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were found inland along estuaries and around the fish ponds
Spoon-billed Sandpiper #4 - ...there is a Spoon-billed Sandpiper in this photo among the many Red-necked Stints...hint, it's in the left half of the photo...
Spoon-billed Sandpiper #4 - ...here blowing up the left side of the previous photo a little...it's still in the left half of the photo...
Spoon-billed Sandpiper #4 - ...and here blowing up the left side of the previous photo a lot...and it's still in the left half of the photo
Spoon-billed Sandpiper? #5 - ...I think this is another photo of the previous Spoon-billed Sandpiper...it was taken with a different camera and lens at about the same time...comments are definitely welcome!
A Photograph by Our Guide - this is what a Spoon-billed Sandpiper really looks like! This photo was taken by our guide, DongMing Lee
Long-toed Stint #5 - very small numbers of these birds were seen along marshy edges
Sanderling #51 - we saw only a few Sanderling, some in breeding plumage like this bird in flight, and others still very much in winter plumage...
Red-necked Stint - ...and here the previous Sanderling (left) with two Red-necked Stints (right) in flight...note the size difference between the Stints and the Sanderling
Red-necked Stint #1 - a lone bird foraging in a drainage ditch along the road
Broad-billed Sandpiper #1 - based on the long bill, scaly back, and well marked split supercillium, but any comments on the ID of the bird in the middle of the photo would be greatly appreciated...thank you
Gray-tailed Tattler #8 - the Asian cousin of the American Wandering Tattler, told by the fine barring on the flanks which does not extend down to the white belly
Ruddy Turnstone #29 - there were lots of Ruddy Turnstones mixed in with the Great Knots...here a bird caught in flight
Black-winged Stilt #9 - a few birds were found at the Nanhui Refuge...
Black-winged Stilt #18 - ...and small numbers of birds were found in the various fish ponds we visited
Far Eastern Curlew #5 - told by the long bill and lack of a white wedge up the back
Far Eastern Curlew #11 - one of only a few birds seen during the trip...comments on the ID are welcome
Whimbrel #54 - one of only a few birds we saw along the tidal estuaries
Whimbrel #56 - told by the short bill and white wedge up the back
Whimbrel #50 - foraging in a field at the Nanhui Refuge