Our first Seedsnipe!

Are seedsnipe really waders? When you see them on the ground foraging around in the desert they look much more like sandgrouse to my way of thinking. However, when they fly they look much more wader like, the Least Seedsnipe with its wingbars reminded me of a Ringed Plover.



Male Least Seedsnipe

Of course this is not how we first saw them. Elis spotted a flock of some 50 birds, but they were really distant and in the heat haze looked like this, pretty unsatisfactory.

Distant flock in the heat haze.

We found one a bit closer and so got reasonable record shots...

Getting closer.

but then Elis found the male bird in the first photo by the side of the road, here's another.

Male Least Seedsnipe

Our luck didn't hold with the Tawny-throated Dotterel though, try as we might and despite many hours of scouring the dry Lomas we didn't find any at all.

Lomas, needle in a haystack comes to mind.

This was of course slightly disappointing, but we will get more chances to look for them, it would have been good to get this difficult species under the belt though.



What well-dressed guides are wearing this year!
Renzo looking dashing in his new Wader Quest T shirt