Whimbrels in a bind - a photo on Flickriver

            Twenty are Whimbrels, but two are Knot.  And the collective noun for Whimbrels include bind and fling.  Although I doubt that many of these collective nouns were really used, though they persist through quiz questions.  They were supposed to be a covert way of communicating between hunters, without giving the game away to those not in the know (A bit like Rhyming Slang or Palare).

Whimbrels breed on northern tundra around the globe, but in America Hudsonian Whimbrels lack the white V on the rump.  In Britain they are rare breeding birds, mainly in Shetland, but passing through in large numbers each spring and autumn while traveling to and from their African wintering grounds.  They are similar to Curlews, but a little smaller with a shorter bill and a stripey head. If you click to zoom in you can see the stripey heads.  They also have a stuttering whistling call, which gives rise to their folk name Seven Whistlers, and which is quite unlike any Curlew call.

I photographed this V-formation flying south along the Northumberland coast in late July, probably failed breeders heading down to Africa.  There are two breeding plumage Knots in positions one and three in the flock.  Most of the Knots that winter in Britain are from Greenland and Arctic Canada but they stop to refuel in Iceland.  So I think these Whimbrels are probably from the Icelandic breeding population and this is where the two Knot latched onto this flock.  But that is just my idle speculation.

The expression "In a bind" means in a box, or hole, or jam, or tight corner, or tight spot. In a difficult, threatening, or embarrassing position; also, unable to solve a dilemma.  It was also one of the opening lines of the Charlie Daniels Band  1979 hit The Devil Went Down to Georgia (...he was looking for a soul to steal.  He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind, so was willing to make a deal).  It's not an expression I hear very often so I think it was this record that brought the words to mind.

Taken on: July 26, 2018

Tags:

Whimbrel

flying

Numenius

phaeopus

Knot

Calidris

canutus

Northumberland

Tim Melling « less

Sets appears in: • British Birds

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