Even the best....

I know I've said it many times before, but not going for a bird when it's there is a risky business. Waiting a day or so for when it is a bit more convenient is asking for trouble and for the bird to fly. I got caught out again by a greater sand plover this week. It was seen on Saturday then showed well early and very late in the day on Sunday. Problem was I was already committed to go to Chenies plant fair, one of the better plant fairs, and it was in Humberside. So, a four hour drive on Sunday afternoon did not seem that attractive, especially as the bird went missing from mid-morning till early afternoon. Still, when I went to bed it was showing very well on the beach. Waders, I reasoned, often hang on.
So, I set off early and got to Easington, north of Hull about 8.30. This is where there was a major twitch 18 months ago when the Siberian accentor dropped in for a few days. When I pulled into the parking area though I was greeted by a two depressing sights. First, three birders trudging back towards their cars. Second, the famous Lee Evans, Britons top twitcher, topless and sunbathing on a bench! I quickly ascertained three things from Lee. First, there was no sign of the bird. Second, he had been there since before 4 in the morning! Third, he is getting very p'eed off this year with missing birds on Monday that were seen on Sunday!!!! Glad it's not just me anyway. This would have been a lifer for me so I gave it another two hours, walking down the beach to check out the tidal pools but it was clear it had departed.
With a four hour drive back I decided to break the journey, but where. Fortunately just before I left the bird alert went off with "red-necked phalarope at Frampton marsh". This was sort of on the way back, but as with no set time to get back I crossed the Humber bridge and went into north Lincolnshire. This is another of those marshy reserves and is relatively new. It does pick up some nice stuff though. The phalarope, of course, was on a pool by the hide furthest from the car-park. A quick yomp though and I was in the hide where 4 other birders confirmed it was there but not showing.
Phalaropes are small waders the don't wade. They behave more like ducks I suppose, feeding on the surface of the water whilst swimming. There are not mega rare but only occur on migration in the south. I quickly spotted it though hiding behind a bank on the marsh.

The distance and heat-haze made for poor photos but you can see the small size, especially in comparison to the godwit in the top photo. It made its way round the pools and came a bit closer.

It's a male, moulting out of its breeding plumage. A bit tatty but the red-neck is showing quite clearly. Suddenly a sparrow hawk came across and everything lifted off. The phalarope came back briefly but then flew off to land a few hundred yard away by another hide. Picking my gear up and walking out of the hides I was met by Lee. He was, how shall I say it, a tad dis-chuffed when I told him the bird had just flown! I did put him onto where I thought it had landed though and he yomped off at great speed leaving me behind. Unfortunately he went too fast and overshot so I had to go and drag him out of the wrong hide. Luckily the bird waited for us and we got reasonable views before it flew off again.
I droppend into the main hide and got another year-tick, wood sandpiper, as well as three little stints and assorted other waders. Eventually I gave it up, though a black tern on the walk back to the car park was a nice bonus. Autumn, from a birding point of view is coming on, so lets hope for a few more nice birds.