ID Feature - Pectoral Sandpipers

Pectoral Sandpipers at Lake McLarty.

For our first 'real' post, we thought we'd start with an ID feature from one of the easier bird groups - the waders! Pectoral Sandpipers are being reported more frequently than ever before in the south-west and this summer in particular has seen 'Pecs' turning up at an almost unprecedented number of wetlands.

The primary ID pitfall for Pectoral Sandpiper is Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, which is very similar in appearance. Moreover, in the south-west, Pectoral Sandpipers are typically found in small numbers within Sharp-tailed Sandpiper flocks, which often means some searching is required to locate the Pectorals. However, this also means that it is usually possible to compare the two species side-by-side if you do find a Pec, which can be useful.

Introduction

Welcome to Leeuwin Current Birding. The idea for this blog was hatched by a group of West Aussie birders as a way of sharing information on birds and birding in Western Australia. We say Western Australia, and the blog will contain information and trip reports from around Western Australia, but even the less sharp-eyed amongst you will probably pick up a bias towards the greater Perth region and for this we apologise! The simple fact is that most of us are based in Perth so we’re naturally biased because (unfortunately) there’s only so much time we can spend travelling (and birding) farther afield!

We envisage the blog will cover a range of topics on birds and birding falling under the following categories;

·         ID Features – various short articles (with accompanying photos) discussing various challenges in bird identification

·         Birding Sites – useful gen on various birding areas around WA

·         Twitching – information and photos of various rare and unusual sightings, updates on conditions (e.g. lake levels) and what’s around

·         Trip Reports – reports and bird lists from various birding quests throughout the state

·         Reviews – short reviews on various bird books, equipment and other stuff birders use

·         Conservation – profiles of some of WA’s rarest birds and the conservation efforts being directed towards them

·         Other Stuff – other relevant (usually) stuff we come up with!

Whilst we like to think we have a vague idea of what we’re on about and will endeavour to make sure all our information is accurate, we’ll almost certainly make stuff-ups, typos, slip-ups, errors, blunders, and gaffes at some stage. If you see something you think is wrong, please let us know at wabirdingblog@gmail.com. We also welcome general comments, queries, and suggestions about the blog.

Lastly for some boring legal(ish) stuff – as we’ve said, the aim of this blog is to share relevant information on WA birds and birding with others and as such, you are most welcome to save, copy, and/or print information from this blog for your private use. However, you may not reproduce any content on this site publicly or commercially without permission from the relevant authors/photographers.

We hope you enjoy the blog,

The Authors – Leeuwin Current Birding