Tuesday 31 August 2021

Got it back.....

 I know exactly where I was on the 22nd July 2010. I was at Dungeness in Kent. The reason I was there was a white-tailed lapwing, a very rare bird, had been on the ARC pit since the 11th July. I can't remember why (possibly due to working) but this was the first time I could get down to go for it. Problem was, I missed it by a day. Seen on the 21st but no sign the day I went!!! This was the last time one has been seen in the UK - till now. One has dropped in to Blacktoft Sands, a small RSPB reserve in Yorkshire. I had a horrible feeling of deja vu all over again though, as it had first appeared on the 26th. A combination of Bank Holiday and visitors meant the first time I could get to go was the 31st, a gap of 5 days. It was with some trepidation  therefore that I left home about 4.30 to drive up the A1, a route I have trod many times in the search for Albert the albatross! It was an easy drive and by the time I got to the car park about 7.40 RBA was already reporting it as still showing. In theory the reserve didn't open till 8 but there were already a dozen or so cars and a few people getting their gear out and heading into the reserve. I spurned coffee and yomped the short walk to the hide. I have to admit I wasn't that chatty as I steamed past three other birders. Over the Bank holiday weekend it was a bit manic with people queuing to even get into the hide so I didn't want to miss out. Fortunately I was early enough and the hide was only a quarter full. I grabbed a good spot on the lower deck of the Xerox hide and peered out into what was a very dull, misty day. The bloke next to me said it had just disappeared off to our right. Surely I hadn't missed it by a few minutes!After what was probably only two or three anxious minutes a brownish wader strolled into view in the channel opposite us - the white-tailed plover. It had only taken 11 years but I'd finally gripped it back.It is a really handsome bird, on long yellow legs and with a relatively short bill. It is now of the few lapwings to be found in deeper water, picking flies off the surface. It breeds in Iran. Iraq and Russia and the Russian birds migrate to India or northern Africa in Winter. It is presumably one of this population that has got lost and ended up in Yorkshire! 


It spent most of the time just wandering around the reed edges, occasionally bending down to pluck a tasty morsel off the surface of the water. The pool was quite busy with other waders including a green sandpiper which kept even closer to the reeds
and little egrets patrolling the deeper channels.
Mostly the lapwing just walked around the pools but a couple of times it did decide to fly across them. You could then see then see why it is called white-tailed!



By now I had been in the hide almost an hour and it was totally full. You could see people starting to queue outside and the RSPB volunteers were marshalling them. I had hoped to get a bit better light as the weather had been awful but it showed no sign of improving so I decided to vacate my seat and head off. The car park was pretty full by the time I left with more arriving to join the queue waiting to pay homage to the star bird.
I stopped off at Frampton Marsh on the way back. It was pretty quiet there with no sign of the big flocks of knot, presumably due to the tide conditions. There were lots of little stints though, upwards of a dozen or more, scattered around the various pools. They were mainly in the company of dunlins, their larger brethren.
They are tiny little birds, easily told from the other waders on size alone.
You could even pick them out in flight as the flocks moved around the marsh.
I didn't stay too long and headed back home a very happy man. Another lifer for the UK taking me to 390 and getting very close to the magic 400 mark. Can't see it happening this year but next Spring must be a realistic target.











Thursday 12 August 2021

Lots of waders but not the right ones....

I've not been out twitching since Albert, partly with other things to do and partly because of the Summer doldrums. In August the number of rare birds drops before the Autumn migration gets going. With minimal interest in building a year list I've not been dodging around to get year ticks. Still, a nice day and the promise of a few good birds did get me out at 5.15 to drive to the Suffolk coast to Minsmere. Always a top reserve and lots to see. There had been both a pectoral and white-rumped sandpiper on show for a few days. Not really rare birds but nice to see although the lack of pictures on t'internet suggested, as can often happen there, that they were "distant".The morning got off to a bad start as I got into the car park and realised that I had forgotten the bag with my coffee and sandwiches in it. Not even a bottle of water for my breakfast which was, to say the least, a bit disappointing. The cafe didn't even open for another two hours so there was nothing to be done. I grabbed up my gear and headed off to the East hide. This has the advantage of being large, two storeys in height to give good views over the scrape, and having the sun behind you so the views are good. There were 5 or 6 other birders already in the hide, normal for here early doors as it attracts a number of locals. 

 It seemed quite busy with birds, a lot of gulls either loafing around or flying up when they got disturbed.

Minsmere also has good numbers of terns. They have finished nesting now but the youngsters and adults were still around, flying out to sea to fish or squabbling with other on the scrape.

Harder to pick out from their more common cousins were around half a a dozen juvenile little gulls. They ranged from the very young with their smart black-and-white colouration (yes this is cropped to death!)to near-adults showing off their diagnostic black underwings.

The  number of waders seemed to be quite low compared to sometimes I've been here and most of them were way back. It was clear that both the star birds were absent. Over about three hours in the hide, with a changing presence of birders scanning all corners we couldn't find any sign. 

We were kept amused though by a few ruff which came close enough to warrant having their photograph taken (or at least kept!).

They are extremely variable in both plumage and size (male ruff being noticeably larger than female reeve). As the day went on the number of non-birders in the hide grew so we were doing quite well on the education front as well. Surprisingly there wasn't an RSPB person in the hide so us "amateurs" had to take on the role of pointing out things of interest to less-knowledgeable visitors. All seemed very pleased to have things pointed out and explained.
Mnismere is always good for spotted redshank at this time of year. These are close cousins of the common redshank but have a more rangy look and a sharp, dagger-like bill. In breeding plumage they are unmistakeable, being black with white dots. The only one like was keeping well to the back of the scrape although three or four non-breeding birds did come into range.




You can see their more orange-than-red legs, that long, thin bill and a smart stripe over their eye. They also have a more grey than brown colouration and tend to be in a bit deeper water but that can be very variable!
The most numerous waders were black-tailed godwits 
and the iconic avocets.  I remember visiting in the 1970's with my parents and seeing them for the first time, when they were still pretty rare. They are still lovely to see although they now have colonised most of the south and east coast and breed in large numbers.
Again mostly distant were both ringed and little-ringed plovers. Quite a few were juveniles so they had obviously had a good breeding season.
The only wader to come very close was a common sandpiper, on the closest island to the hide. To be picky, it was shame that most of the photos are looking down on it rather than nicer eye-level shots but it did put on a good show, even if it was only a common!


Most of the ducks were in eclipse and a uniform brown! Minsmere does have a population of feral barnacle geese. True wild birds only really exist in Scotland, especially during Summer, but there are a  number of groups like these which, having escaped from collections, have decided it is quite nice down here! This pair had raised a good brood the year.


By 11.30 I was getting pretty hungry and thirsty as I'd still had no coffee or tea! I walked round to the west hide where the pectoral sandpiper had been reported. This is opposite where I had been all morning, but the two scrapes are not visible from both hides. The west hide is awful in the morning as you are looking straight into the sun. I could see waders but they were silhouettes and you couldn't with any certainty ID them. I didn't last long and headed for the cafe where a cup of tea and a sausage butty revived me. 
As ever at Minsmere a really nice day even if I didn't manage to connect with my two targets. A quick stop at the fish shop on the way home to load up with supplies and I was home by 3.30 for another cup of tea!