The Story
On March 22, 2018, I photographed this Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) near the Mai Po Marshes in Hong Kong’s northwest New Territories. It is a small wader of the sandpiper family. It has a smaller, less contrasting white rump patch than the green sandpiper. It is a long-distance migrant, and in the western Pacific region of East Asia it is found between mid-October and mid-May. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. Deep Bay lies between Hong Kong’s Yuen Long District and the city of Shenzhen. The Mai Po Marshes nature reserve covers 380 acres on Deep Bay, a shallow estuary of international importance.
I used a Pentax K-1 and the HD PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6ED DC AW for this one, at 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, −1 EV. Deep Bay faces pollution and development pressure, so protected wetlands like Mai Po matter for the birds that depend on it.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) belongs to the family Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025). Source: IUCN Red List