Hanoi - Stroll along the Red river banks

Hi all,

Sunday morning, despite the cold and the rain, I went out to explore the small arm of the Red river situated along the west side of the Island, which is not yet dry. The muddy banks (at least 1,5km) attract a nice selection of waders and other good birds.
I have marked the location of this area on this GoogleMap (access by motorbike : ngõ 76 An Dương).

The first birds I encountered were 1 Snipe sp, some Green and Common Sandpipers (5-10 each), and at least 4 (3+1) Temminck's Stints. Sorry for pic quality, but with such bad weather conditions + distance, miracle was not possible :)

Among the Stints, I noticed a bird that looks like a juvenile Little Ringed Plover but obviously larger and bulky (pic below : on the right, with the Stints and an ad. Little Ringed P.).

It was large-headed, had a white nuchal collar with a thin blackish line, a fairly long bill, broad buff supercilium, yellowish legs.

Later I consulted the Robson and the pics on the Net, and identified it as a Long-billed Plover, a juvenile. In particular, Common Ringed Plover was excluded on basis of general structure, bill, colour of legs and supercilium. Are you agree ?

On those pics, you can notice the broad buff supercilium contrasting with the white nuchal collar.

It was also long-tailed, with the tail clearly projecting beyond the wing-tip.

This good area also produced many Yellow Wagtails (with at least one male macronyx) and, much more interesting, 3-5 Citrine Wagtails.

I also picked up some smart Black-headed Munias in a mixed flock with Scaly-breasted M.

Sebastien