Dutch Birding volume 24 (2002) no 4

Sharp-tailed Sandpipers at Ezumakeeg in August 1998 and August 2000

From 6 to 23 August 1998, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata was observed at Ezumakeeg, Lauwersmeer, Friesland, the Netherlands. On 6 August, another Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was briefly seen at the same site; this bird was identified with certainty as a second adult individual on 7 August and was last seen on 8 August. The birds could be recognized individually on the basis of their plumage and feeding behaviour. The first bird was an adult in summer plumage which was feeding very slowly; the second was an adult already moulting to winter plumage on the underparts and feeding more actively. Identification of the second individual initially caused some problems because the chevrons on the breast and flanks were less obvious, thus creating the impression of a breast band. In the evening hours of 16 August 2000, an adult Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was again present at the same site. These observations constituted the second, third and fourth Sharp-tailed Sandpipers for the Netherlands. The first was an adult at Philippine, Zeeland, on 14-21 September 1989 (this bird was considered to be the same individual as the first for Belgium at Longchamps, Namur, on 3-5 September 1989). Remarkably, the fifth for the Netherlands, also an adult, was in exactly the same Ezumakeeg area as the previous three from 24 July 2002 onwards.

Rudy Offereins, Grote Kerkstraat 109, 8911 EB Leeuwarden, Nederland
calidrisxs4all.nl
A (Bert) de Bruin, Albertine Agnesplein 8a, 9717 EV Groningen, Nederland
tetewxs.nl
Ferdy G S M Hieselaar, Meijerslaan 32, 2105 PB Heemstede, Nederland
f.hieselaarsfb.nl
Eric Koops, Elzenlaan 54, 9741 NG Groningen, Nederland
eric.koopsahold.com
Roy Slaterus, Patiëntiestraat 3, 2011 DL Haarlem, Nederland
rslaterushotmail.com