ML609253968
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Media notes
Emmit stoked!
Observation details
Parked. Heard greenshank call. Watched brilliant white dagger-backed tringed fly across narrows and land nearby. Enjoyed for couple hours with a few folks pretty much crowd free. Very active juvenile shank, running along the shores almost non-stop foraging similar to an avocet, mainly catching small silvery fish and infrequently coming up with small snail-like critters. Flew back and forth between mud bank on the south shore of the narrows south of the boat ramp and a mud bank 100m east towards teal point on the north side of the narrows. It often called in flight giving 2-note and 3-note calls that were very similar to greater, sometimes indistinguishable but at other times it had more of a clear-note, ringing, echoed quality that was discernible. Similar in appearance to greater yellowlegs with which it was often seen, long-legged, up-curved bill, long-necked and small headed. The neck seemed longer giving it a more front heavy look at times, the streaking in the head and neck was paler, with a gap in the streaking down the throat giving it a white-throated look. The flanks of the bird was one of the easiest ways to pick it out when it was foraging with the yellowlegs flock further in the lake. Broad white sides riding up into the wing edge were very different than the sharp line formed by the greaters white undersides and dark wings. Although the bird was obviously paler than a greater, the back often looked slightly darker, maybe because it was lacking the white spotting of the greaters, or maybe because the bird itself was paler. The size comparison was mostly indistinguishable between the 2 species but the wings seemed to extend beyond the tail a bit more on the greenshank. The green-gray legs was also very evident, especially when the bird was higher up on the mud out of the water. The greenshank would often dip its tail in a funny way as it foraged around, showing off the bright white tail. In flight the obvious white tail and super broad white wedge running up almost the entire back made the bird stand out from great distances and was stunning when seen up-close. The bird picked up and flew NE towards the northern finger of Lake Earl around 1030 and we did not see it again.
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