HK’s second Buff-breasted Sandpiper was found this morning by a Birdwatching Society surveyor (whose name I don’t yet know), while monitoring a drained pond in San Tin.
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
HK’s first-ever B-BS was sighted briefly on Ponds 16/17 at Mai Po Nature Reserve last spring (2015).
The 2015 bird was in view for less than an hour, and many people, - including me - missed it.
Naturally, this mornings bird flew away after being sighted. However it was located on the pond next to where it was originally seen this afternoon by Graham Talbot. It wandered, feeding in the drained fishpond, until the light faded.
It was small, well-camouflaged and very easy to lose sight of, even in a flat, bare pond bottom.
Here are some heavily-cropped record shots.
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
 |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Tryngites subruficollis |
Fifteen minutes drive from home, a “Life Tick” and a “HK Tick” rolled into one. This and the Siberian Cranes have made a spectacular end to 2016.
Great bird, John. Even here it is a relatively rarity, although in the fall if you can hit the right spot several can be sometimes found on sod farms. It is a bird I have seen infrequently. The one I remember best is a singleton that spent about a week at the same location where the Rouge River empties into Lake Ontario east of Toronto. That was a cooperative bird!
ReplyDeleteThanks, David .....this one has stayed loyal to the same area for 4-5 days now.
DeleteCongratulations on the addition to your HK list!
ReplyDeleteThanks,Stu - I should dutifully add them up again.
Delete