25 July 2014

Meet the locals #10

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Red Necked Stint. (Calidris ruficollis)

Also known as Rufous Necked Stint


Another local species that may not be so well known outside the region........

The species breeds in the high latitudes of Asia and winters in southeast Asia and the south Pacific.

This is the default small passage wader in Japan, rather like Dunlin in northwestern Europe. They are by far the commonest wader in autumn but are far less numerous in the spring.

These pictures are taken in May and show the birds in breeding plumage. They look like mini-Sanderlings..............

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Red Necked Stint

Large flocks of them gather in Mukawa but near Hakodare we only get individuals or small groups.



The first ones return in early August (or even late July). These are generally adults and still have some summer plumage evident.............

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By September it is almost all immature birds and they become common on the local beaches..............

The immatures (and winter plumage adults) look very similar to Little Stints. They are much commoner than I remember Little Stints being in the UK.

Red Necked Stint

Red Necked Stint

Red Necked Stint

Red Necked Stint

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They can even be quite tame..............



11 comments:

  1. The "default small passage wader" for us, too.

    Do you get Little Stints in Hokkaido ? We seem to get a few here in HK.

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  2. Very instructive images Stu. If only I could find one on Knott End beach.

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    1. Hi Phil, keep looking you never know................

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  3. Really smart. As I'm sure you know, only a handful of UK records. Little Stints are a bit sporadic locally to me. Never seen more than about 4 or 5 at once and more usually just 1 or 2.
    It's been interesting on google+ with the response in Japan to some of my UK shots - the birders get as excited about Wheatear as I would Siberian Rubythroat!

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    1. Actually I saw a Wheatear in Japan on an offshore island 10 years ago, a mega rarity among all the common rubythroats and bluetails..............

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  4. This is out most abundant wader in the summer - and learning to see waders that are not RKSs is the first step in wader ID down here! They were also the first wader I banded. Keep an eye out for ones with orange leg flags!

    Sorry about the much delayed reply - I've been in the UK for a month and I let the blog sit on the back burner - normal service will resume soon!

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. Hi Stewart, yes my first RNS was in Queensland actually..................I'll keep my eye out this autumn for the orange flags.............

      Hope you enjoyed the UK.

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  5. Super pictures, Stu. I don't know how to get pictures of sea-side waders. I can never get that close.

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    1. I guess we just have narrower beaches up here Russell!

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  6. Beautiful captures of this sea-bird. Don't see any Stints here.

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