Memorandum to:         The Director of Birds Australia

 

From:                          Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)

 

Date:                            11th January 2007

 

Voting Members:         Mike Carter                   Andrew Silcocks

                                    Rohan Clarke                 Glenn Holmes

                                    John Hatch                    Jamie Matthew

                                    Tony Palliser                 Danny Rogers

                       

Cc.                               Ron Johnstone              

 

 

Submission No 479: Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes at Lake Gladstone, Near Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary WA, 18th September 2005 (Unpublished).

 

 

Verdict: Not Accepted

 

 

This submission relates to the sighting of a Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes on Lake Gladstone, near the Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, the Kimberley, WA (17º 11’ 04 S x 126º 14’ 28 E) on the 18th September 2005.  The bird was seen by a number of observers (up to 10) associating with the more regular Tringa species such as Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Greenshank.

 

Particularly striking were the bright yellow legs and the fine ‘Marsh Sandpiper’ like bill. This combined with the greyer tones above and the presence of some dark mottling below and a smudge of dark colour on the breast satisfied the observers (after direct consultation with field guides) that the bird must have been a Lesser Yellowlegs rather than the very similar Greater Yellowlegs.

 

Members struggled with the brevity of the description but agreed with the observers (particularly given their experience) that this bird was most likely a Lesser Yellowlegs.  However, a sighting of this magnitude requires just that little bit more to be positive. Many important characters were not noted in the description such as the white rump, contrasting with the lower back and more precise bill comparison with Marsh Sandpiper. It is fairly well documented that Marsh Sandpiper can depict bright orange yellow legs at least in the boreal spring (Hayman et al. 1986) and this made it difficult for members to vote in favour.

 

This bird may well have been a Lesser Yellowlegs, and as such would have been a new species for Western Australia.

 

 

 

Selected Bibliography:

 

·         Beaman, M. & Madge S. (1998), The Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic, Princeton, New Jersey.

·         Chandler, R.J. (1989), The Macmillan Field Guide to North Atlantic Shorebirds, Macmillan, London.

·         Higgins, P.J. & Davies S.J.J.F. (Eds.) (1996). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 3: Snipe to Pigeons. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

·         Hayman, P., Marchant, J. & Prater, T. (1986), Shorebirds; an Identification Guide to the Waders of the World, Croom Helm, Sydney.

·         Prater, A.J., Marchant, J.H. & Vuorinen J. (1977), Guide to the identification and ageing of Holarctic Waders, British Trust for Ornithology, Tring, Herts

 

 

Tony Palliser

Chairman, Birds Australia Rarities Committee