Oyster Catcher?

[Leono]

Looking out at the solent from the Isle of Wight, I saw some oystercatchers and lots of other birds on the sand banks revealed by the out going tide. There were a number of similar shaped birds with long dark bills simillar to the oystercatchers but they were all of a nondescript colour similar to that of female mallards. I looked at photographs of oystercatchers on the net but they were all bright black and white birds with reddish bills and I did not find any referece to gender when describing them. Can anyone tell me whether they were indeed female oystercatchers?

[Lance Morgan]

Oystercatchers of both sexes have similar plumage the birds you saw could have been turnstones or dunlin though these are smaller. redshank?

[Chocobirder]

No, males and females are indistinguishable from each other, a least to me. The question now is what was it you saw?

Were they larger or smaller that the oystercatchers? Beak longer or shorter, curved or straight. There are a few possibilities to choose from. Godwits, redshank, maybe golden plover although the bill is considerably shorter. Any more info you can supply would help.

[aeshna5]

If they were long-billed I'd say they were 1 of the godwit species.

[John]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

If they were long-billed I'd say they were 1 of the godwit species.

Yep, my thoughts also.

John

[Leono]

Thanks for all of the replies. I saw the birds through 8x20 binoculars as they were some distance away (5 or 6 hundred yards I would say). The bills seemed very long and quite thin. I will try and find some photographs on the web of the various birds mentioned in your replies and let you know if I think I can recognize any.

[Leono]

I have now looked at photographs of a godwit and it does seem very similar. The description says that it is a large bird. So far as I could see, the body of my birds were about the size of a pidgeon. I have looked at redshank and dunlin photos and have not discounted those yet. Definitely not turnstone or golden plover. I will look out for these birds tomorrow afternoon and see if I can get more details of leg colour and any other markings. I believe the bill curves in a similar direction to the gotwit.

[John]

If its Pigeon size you can discount all bar the Godwits from your selection. Study the photos and check the difference between the beaks. Bar-tailed Godwits have a slightly upturned beak whereas the Black-tailed Godwit has a straighter beak. Obviously if you see the birds fan their tails out is then they are as their names imply.

The Bar-tailed (or barwit as it is affectionately known) is a stockier bird with shorter legs but of course unless you have both Bar and Blackwits together that comparison can't be made.

There are other differences but the beak shape should help ID the birds.

John

[Leono]

The tide went out at about 12 noon today. Visibilty was not as good as yesterday. I spotted an Oystercatcher and then a "Godwit?" at a distance of over two hundred yards. I was not able to catch sight of any in flight so I cannot say whether there was anything distinctive about the tail. I could see the long bill which appeared not to curve upwards.

Also on the beach were what looked like two large(ish) resting ducks or geese. Both had expansive bright white chests or bodies but most, if not all of the wings at rest were black. I hope to catch them again tomorrow and will check their bills. Is there anything else I should look out for in order to identify them?

[Chocobirder]

From the fact that they were on the beach, and that you say duck/goose I would like to suggest Shelduck on the basis that they are a large duck that frequent such areas and appear to be black and white from a distance, even though their wings are black and white and they have a chestnut band on the breast. The dark head/neck with intense red bill should help with identification. Can be confused with the smaller Shoveler, however Shoveler's bill is dark and distinctively wide, and they prefer fresh water.