A distinctive plover has been independently discovered by Peter Kennerley and David Bakewell, working over ten years apart at two widely separated sites, Singapore and Penang.
Click to see larg picture
Male White-faced Plover at Laem Phak Bia (P. Ericsson)
Especially excitingly for Thai birdwatchers, when, after collaboration and careful synthesis of the evidence, the two observers went public with their findings (www.surfbirds.com/Features/plovers1108/malayplovers.html), retrospective records (from photographs taken in Thailand during 2003–2007, at Phetchaburi—Laem Phak Bia—and from Krabi) came immediately to light. Active searches for the tentatively named “White-faced Plovers” in the Inner Gulf since early December 2007 have revealed two to three further birds. One was found and photographed by Suchart Daengphayon and Somchai Nimnuan near the Artemia ponds at Laem Phak Bia on 15 December 2007, while one or two further individuals were present on the beach nearby for three successive weekends in January 2008.
Peter Kennerley and David Bakewell are to be congratulated on their remarkable find, which they are expected to formally publish soon. They consider that the “White-faced Plover” (named for the distinctive white-lored breeding males) is most likely a species with a small, probably threatened, population that breeds S. China and winters in SE Asia.
The Surfbirds article, a well-illustrated and highly detailed account of what is known, is essential reading for anyone who enjoys shorebirds and wants to search for themselves. Observers are encouraged to look for White-faced Plovers and to send their photographs (with date and location) either to BCST Records Committee or directly to the observers (Peter Kennerley: peterkennerley@onetel.net ; and David Bakewell digdeep1962@yahoo.com ).
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