Little Stint at Las Salinas

 Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

I returned to the saltpans at Fuencaliente this morning in the hope of getting some better pictures of the Calidris sp. mentioned in my previous post. Fortune smiled. Conditions were much better on this occasion, and all the bird's previous consorts were still there: 3 x Dunlin (Calidris alpina), 3 x Sanderling (Calidris alba), 3 x Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), and 1 x Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)...plus an additional 3 x White Wagtail (Motacilla alba).

Within minutes I located the "peep" in question...

The bird was very obliging, providing clear views of its unwebbed toes. In some of the present images, the plumage looks slightly darker, due to the shade of the pool margins. The narrow scapular "V" on its back can be seen above.

Despite the overall "cold" colours, with hardly any rufous shades discernible,  the doubt as to the bird's id is now resolved: this is not a Semi-palmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) after all, but a Little Stint (Calidris minuta).

 Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

The last shot shows the bird in a better-lit position. The pale plumage tones can be fullly appreciated...and also its spindly, un-palmated toes.