Unknown Wader

The birds shown above were photographed by Frank O'Connor on an ephemeral wetland about 20km south of Cue on 17th January 2004.  Frank's general notes and impressions about the two birds are given below.

The two waders were initially standing in very low samphire very close to the edge of the water. When I approached they walked out of the samphire into the water.  The bird on the left was considerably smaller than the bird on the right (maybe 20 to 25% less body mass) and needed to swim at this point, but the bird on the right is still standing.  I thought at the time that they were the same species.  Initially I thought maybe Sharp-tailed Sandpipers because of the grey neck and upper breast colour, or maybe a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and a Long-toed Stint when it became apparent they were different sizes.  Their appearance is slightly scalloped, but not as strongly as these species can be, and the crown was not chestnut, but appeared to be a darkish grey.  Long-toed Stint often appears to stand tall, and this bird did not have this appearance.  I discounted Pectoral Sandpiper because the cut off of the grey on the chest is not very marked, and the bill looked an even colour.  I had discounted Wood Sandpiper early because they didn't bob, the colour was too grey, the colour was uneven rather than spotty, etc.  I then thought of a male and female Ruff and left at this point as I was running late, but on looking at a Ruff in field guides later they don't illustrate the clear white eyebrow apparent on both birds, and more clearly on the smaller bird.  The general shape of the bird also gave me doubts about this being a Ruff.  The neck was more hunched than I am used to on a Ruff.  At the initial sighting, I thought they were the same species, and so I spent time trying to get a photograph rather than concentrating on the features.  I wasn't expecting them to be hard to identify.  I made no note, and I don't remember anything about the leg colour.  This may have been because they were initially in the samphire, and then in the water.  The photo appears to show the bill on the smaller bird as being much finer, more like a Marsh Sandpiper or phalarope, but the Marsh Sandpiper doesn't have an eyebrow and the phalaropes don't seem to have this breast colour.  I thought maybe a Red Knot and a Great Knot, but these are highly unlikely this far inland, and the chances of finding both together are very small, and the breast colour is not right amongst other things.  I only used my 10x binoculars and my camera.  I didn't go and get my spotting scope from the car which I regret now.

Having said all the above, I now believe that the larger bird on the right is a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper as I first thought.  Maybe the light was wrong when I saw the crown and thought it was grey (about 3pm).  But I am still uncertain about the bird on the left. It was signifcantly smaller than the STSP, but not as small as a Long-toed Stint.  Maybe just a small STSP?  But having seen large flocks of STSPs at Lake McLarty, I don't ever recall seeing one so much smaller.  I didn't notice the finer bill at the time, but as I said I was more interested in getting a photo, so I could have missed it.  It looks quite apparent in the photo.  Could this just be the angle?

If you have any further comments about this bird, then email the comments to sightings@iinet.net.au and I will put them on this web page as soon as possible.