Sabine's Gull at Grafham Water - September 2011

Sabine's Gull - Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, September 2011

Gulls aren’t every bird-watcher’s cup of tea. If it’s not the noisy Black-headed Gulls spoiling the peace and quiet of a day at the wader scrape, or the brutish Herring Gulls trying to steal your chips at the seaside that puts people off, then it’s the near-impenetrable plumage puzzles they pose.

But there is a definite beauty in them, that is perhaps more obvious in the smaller gulls like Little Gull and the rarer Sabine’s Gull (Larus sabini). In Britain, Sabs Gulls (as many birders call them) are most often seen off the west coast during their passage in early autumn. And they don’t hang around for long on their journey south. So in most years they are not an easy bird to connect with. But autumn 2011 has been different.

The Atlantic hurricane season has started early this year, with Irene and Katia. It seems lots of birds, particularly American waders, have been brought over to the UK by the storms. This has also produced a prolonged period of westerly and southerly winds, in which early migrants heading south (like Sabs Gulls) have been caught.

I’d never seen one of these beauties before, so this autumn has proved to be a good opportunity. Most of the Sabs Gulls inland this year were juveniles, and while they do have their own appeal, it was an adult that I most wanted to see.

The nearest one was at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire: a bit of a trek, I admit. But with the added bonus of a Grey Phalarope there too, I thought the journey was worth it to see this beauty.

Sabine's Gull - Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, September 2011

It took me a while to walk around the reservoir to find it; but there it was, feeding with four Black-headed Gulls just off the shoreline - the only bird in the group still with a dark hood. Compared to the Black-headed Gulls, it looked more delicate, perhaps most similar to a Kittiwake, but with the dark grey hood, bordered with a black line, and a black bill with the striking yellow tip. During its floaty flight the bird showed its striking black/white/grey wing pattern. Lovely.

As well as the photos I managed to get some video too (all taken through my binoculars, so not great quality).



The Grey Phalarope was a juvenile, and unlike the only other one I’d seen previously, this one was feeding on the shoreline rather than picking food from the water surface while swimming. Another bird with delicate beauty. Yep, definitely a trip worth making.

Flamborough and Spurn, East Yorkshire - 10th-11th September 2011

Fin Whale at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

Some months ago my friend and I booked this trip, based around an RSPB Skua and Shearwater Cruise from Bridlington. Alas, the winds weren’t quite with us – mainly warm southerlies rather than the northerlies and easterlies that would benefit the east-coast birder in September. That’s not to say we didn’t see anything interesting though…

We set off nice and early, to a soundtrack of In on the Kill Taker by Fugazi, and at 08:00 we joined the queue in the mild breeze on Bridlington Harbour. There were a few birds around to help us get our eye in, including 16 Common Scoter flying past.

The boat trip itself was very wet. It didn’t rain, apart from a brief bit of mizzle, but the sea was choppy enough to give those sat near the prow a good soaking throughout the voyage. I wasn’t smug that I had my waterproofs on. Really.

Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire - 10th September 2011

The bird highlights were: three Sooty Shearwater; two Manx Shearwater (including one very close on the water); maybe up to double figures of Great Skua; six Artic Skua; Eider; Black-throated Diver; Fulmar, etc. Some excitement came when we got on to a slim, long-winged, long-tailed, dark skua. A Long-tailed Skua would have been a great bird for the trip (and a life tick for me), but photos proved it was a juvenile, dark morph Artic Skua.

After a quick gander at three Purple Sandpiper on the sea wall north of the harbour, we went up to Flamborough Head and bashed the bushes, ravines, and stubble fields, including a futile search for a reported Red-breasted Flycatcher. A bit too windy for many birds to show.

Common Darter at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire - 10th September 2011 (photo: Lyndon Marquis)

Then off to Spurn for the night, via Hornsea Mere, while listening to Big Black's Rich Man's Eight Track Tape really loud. We couldn’t pick out any Little Gulls on the mere, but we really didn’t stay late enough until the roosting birds turned up. We did get on to a probable Black-necked Grebe, but it was a bit distance to claim. Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, and Common Sandpiper was nice though.

We tried for the Semi-palmated Sandpiper at Beacon Ponds before we went to the Crown and Anchor in Kilnsea. We maybe two pints too many in the pub, meaning we got up later than most of the other residents at the Obs. The road down to Spurn Point was still closed to motor vehicles, so we decided to walk the 3.5 miles, while keeping an eye out for birds (not a bad idea when birding, I find).

There were few birds along the spit, for a September day, mainly due to the wind direction and strength: Wheatear, Tree Sparrow, Yellow Wagtail, plus House Martins, Swallows and Meadow Pipits moving south, and the usual waders on the western side.

On the seaward side of the Point we came across the most fascinating wildlife of the trip, albeit a dead specimen. A Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) carcass had been washed up that morning. It was a 20-foot long juvenile. It had originally beached and died across the estuary at Cleethorpes earlier in the week. Most of the black outer skin had gone, but it was quite a sight to see a practically fully-formed whale and get to study the whale's baleen up close.

Fin Whale at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

Fin Whale at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

Fin Whale at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

Fin Whale at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

We strolled back up to the Obs, and after calling in at all the usual places around the Triangle, we went back to Beacon Ponds to see if this Semi-p dropped back in again to roost. It didn’t, but we got a good couple of hours grilling the waders that did come in - very educational.

Fledgling Swallows at Canal Scrape hide, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 11th September 2011

Unfortunately, we had to leave to get to West Yorkshire before it got too late, but a very educational and interesting weekend all the same. Special thanks to Lyndon for driving.

Wryneck, Doncaster, South Yorkshire – Wednesday 7th September 2011

I’d never seen a Wryneck before, so that was stimulus enough to go and see the bird reported at Lakeside, Doncaster, South Yorkshire yesterday. The fact that I’d dipped Wryneck a couple of times before, and in particularly annoying circumstances, meant I was determined to make the trip.

I had the motive, means and opportunity: my wife didn’t need the car, my friend was “working from home” and wanted to come too, and I’d planned leave work early anyway - to go a look for a new pair of binoculars. So, all I needed was for the bird to show…

At 17:45 we arrived on site – at the top of a man-made hill made of extracted soil from the adjacent man-made lake – to join 15 or so other birders. The bird was apparently in the scrub in a small plantation of maybe ten trees on the leeward side of this hill, and viewing was from the path above We learnt that the bird had shown less that 30 minutes earlier. It had been flushed by a jogger, but had shown well at times. Promising.

Unfortunately, it didn’t show soon, and most of the assembled birders, maybe 20+, decided to call it a day by 19:00. In fading light around 19:15 both Secret Twitcher and my friend noticed a small brown bird drop in around the base of a tree. Five pairs of eyes searched the small area for some 20 minutes. Eventually, in the murky twilight, I spotted a movement in the grass.

At first glance it looked like it might be a small rodent, or maybe even a lizard, but the grass just seemed to be writhing. I called the others over. I could just make out a dark jagged pattern, like an exotic snake’s markings, which twisted and bent. Then the bird flicked its longish tail and looked up, seemingly right at me (its eye seemed bigger and bolder than shown in the books), and I knew it was definitely a Wryneck (Jinx torquila).

Well, that’s what I call cryptic plumage. Lovely shades of light and dark brown with greys and yellows, looking just like drying grass, sandy soil, and fallen leaves. There’s every chance that several of us had seen it earlier, and the bird had just faded into the background. I kept losing it while staring right at it. It had been reported for the first time earlier that day, but could easily have remained hidden for days.

It was smaller than I’d imagined it would be, but then I didn’t see it out in the open. It’s a shame we didn’t get better views, but as it was a lifer for most of us present, I think we were all happy to see it t all. With the trips to the east coast I have planned for this autumn, there’s a decent chance I’ll get to see another this year.

So that takes my British life list to 282, and my British 2011 year list to 199. I have a boat trip around Flamborough Head booked for this Saturday, followed by another day at Spurn, so a Sooty Shearwater or Common Rosefinch will do nicely to tip the year list over 200…

Spurn, East Yorkshire – Saturday 27th August

I had an enjoyable day at Spurn NNR last weekend, in the company of Martin Garner. Martin runs Birding Frontiers and this trip was in the company of four other birders on one of his “Spurn Discovery Days”.

I arrived around 07:30, before the tour started, hoping to have a look around by myself first. I’d hoped to arrive earlier still, but I accidentally woke the kids before I left and had to entertain them before their mum got up!

Anyway, I ended up chanting to other birders for an hours rather than birding – as usual – so didn’t see much. Apart, that is, form the constant movement of Swallows and the occasional Sand Martin overhead, all heading south. In fact, throughout the day I noticed there were Swallows on most of the wires around the areas the visited, resting up before heading on.

Swallows at the Warren, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

After meeting Martin, and discussing the finer points of aging Swifts, we tried some sea watching from the dedicated hide behind the Warren (if you’re unfamiliar with Spurn, here's a very useful map). No easy first thing on the east coast (i.e. looking in to the sun), but we saw 8+ Great Skuas and 7 Common Scoters among the Gannets.

Sea Watching Hide, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

We wandered over to Clubley’s Scrape, and although it was devoid of birds, it was good to visit part of the reserve I’m unfamiliar with – the whole point to the day really. In the air we saw Stock Dove, Common Snipe and Meadow Pipit, and an attractive Wall butterfly.

Wall Butterfly, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

Before leaving the Warren area, we were invited to watch some of the guys from the observatory as they ringed some of the Tree Sparrow flock we’d been watching earlier.

Juvenile Tree Sparrow, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

The birds we were shown were juveniles, partway through their first complete autumn moult (something juveniles of only a few species do). One young bird’s original tail feathers were almost completely worn away. This feather weakness is attributed to a poor diet while in the nest. One new, full-length tail feather was present.

Juvenile Tree Sparrow, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

Canal Zone and the Humber were next, allowing us to compare Curlews and Whimbrels on the intertidal mud. During the day we saw a great range of waders on the western side of Spurn, including Knot, Ringed Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Ruff, in addition to the Curlew, Whimbrel and Snipe. Not bad. Plenty of Shelduck, Little Egret, and Teal out there too.

A Pied Flycatcher in the garden of Cliff Farm (interesting name, as there’s not many cliffs around here) was a great to watch. The highlight of the day for me was soon to come: a Wood Warbler in Kilnsea churchyard. An absolute peach. One of my favourite birds (with one of my favourite calls). I’ve been lucky with this bird this year, having seen and heard several already, but I’m always happy to see more. Unfortunately I missed out on seeing the bird in the hand when it was ringed later - I was too busy chatting to the YWT staff… Some nice pictures on the Spurn Sightings page for August 2011 though.

A bright Spotted Flycatcher was another nice migrant to see, also in the churchyard.

We made our way back around the Triangle and called in at Canal Scrape. More Swallows on wires here.

Swallows at Canal Scrape, Spurn NNR, East Yorkshire - 27th August 2011

We headed for Sammy’s Point – a real migrant trap when there are easterlies blowing – calling in at a farm near Easington churchyard first. Then partway towards the Point itself, to check out the wader roost from Chalk Bank Hide. We ended the official session with some more sea watching from the Narrows – an area that was inundated by the sea only a couple of days later, damaging the road). From here: Kittiwakes on the groyne and Whinchats in the scrub, plus Arctic Skuas heading south and a Manx Shearwater going north. The Swallows by now were heading north, possibly to wait for the morning to make the journey over the sea.

Another hour’s sea watching from the hide was all I could fit in before having to head home. A really enjoyable day with the Birding Frontiers guru – something I would recommend to any birder, especially those that have yet to visit this fantastic site.

Duding in Dorset and Devon

It’s been a week since my family and I returned from our holiday down in Devon and Dorset, so I better get a crack on if I’m going to write a blog about it…

This summer’s family holiday in Dorset (in a tipee, no less) and then Devon (in a caravan) gave me the chance to go in search of a couple of birds I’d never seen in the UK or abroad: Dartford Warbler and Cirl Bunting. I’d spent some months reading up on the area and planning my early morning jaunts to likely sites. Unfortunately, my wife had forgotten I was a birder (again) and seemed surprised when I revealed my modest plans to see these species while in their national hotspots. So, with my plans scaled back somewhat, I ended up spending a lot of time on the beach and in café’s feeling like a bit of a dude*, wondering how I was going to get to see anything.

(*dude - a posh bird-watcher, who doesn’t really know all that much about birds
- Bill Oddie’s Little Black Bird Book, Bill Oddie, 1980)

Day 1 – It appeared to be starting quite well. During the six-hour journey from Bradford to Dorset, I persuaded my wife that it was a great idea for all the family to visit Lodmoor RSPB near Weymouth, to see the Stilt Sandpiper that was reportedly there. I spent two hours at staring at some mud. I did a Green Sandpiper on the mud. For about five seconds. Some nice Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher and Lapwing, and the usual gulls, crows and ubiquitous Little Egrets too, further west on the reserve, but no unusual North American waders. Meanwhile the kids spent two hours on the very pebbly beach, apparently loving it.

My wife was particularly happy: she thought we’d “done” the birding now, so we could get on an enjoy the rest of our holiday…

Day 2 – Studland beach, near Poole harbour. Ah, getting closer to Dartford Warbler territory here, but not close enough. We walked through the woods and dunes to Littlesea Lake, some lovely Butterflies (Speckled Wood, Comma, Large White, Common Blue), plus a Black-tipped Skimmer and a Sika Deer by the lake.

Day 3 – I spent some time enjoying the birds on our campsite (Longthorns Farm – highly recommended, if you don’t mind tanks driving past until midnight every night), including ace views of Pied Wagtail family groups bobbing around, a couple of fat Mistle Thrushes, and cool low-flying Swallows. We got to Arne RSPB late afternoon after another day on the beach (not my favourite pastime…) and my two-year-son was asleep. So it was just me and my Dora-the-Explorer daughter Rowan who ventured out to find some Dartford Warblers.

Arne RSPB, Purbeck, Dorset - August 2011

The warden told us how the Dartford population had dropped by 70% since last year because of the severe winter weather, and therefore the birds were not easy to find this summer. Undeterred, we set off hoping to return with great news of a hitherto undiscovered Dartford Warbler population on the reserve. Things didn’t quite go to plan. We found a pair of Stonechats (“to find a Dartford, first find a Stonechat”, so the saying goes), but not much else. Fortunately, Rowan seemed happy to the free of the car and enjoyed finding all kinds of weird bugs. Alas, while I was watching a Meadow Pipit that was seemingly trying to shoo me away, my scope blew over in the wind. The scope’s focussing mechanism broke! Arrgh! The pipit immediately let out a wittering, cascading call as I ran over to assess the damage, and my daughter said, in a glorious dead-pan voice: “That bird is laughing at you”. Thanks for that, Rowan.

Earlier, my daughter had already made feel foolish while I was “pishing” for birds near some gorse. I was having no success whatsoever, when I realised we were stood right next to a hide. She pointed at a sign on the side of the hide: Quiet Please, it read.

So this was the only Dartford Warbler we saw at Arne:

Dartford Warbler!, Arne RSPB, Dorset - August 2011

It was just as we arrived back at the car park that we realised we’d left the badge a kilometre back up the path. Rowan wanted it back, so… Luckily we got some great views of Sika Deer and Green Woodpecker as we walked back around the reserve, and the badge was found too. Despite being  a quiet day, there was no doubting it is a lovely reserve.

Sika Deer, Arne RSPB, Dorset - August 2011

Day 4 – Hmmm, I was enjoying this holiday up until now. It had rained overnight and the tipee was not as waterproof as I’d been led to believe. I hadn’t slept much because of the rain pouring on my face, and when I got up we found most of our clothes were wet. Then I remembered my scope was still bust. Grrr.

So, let’s all go to town for breakfast while our clothes dry, eh? What could go wrong? While walking through rainy Wareham to a launderette, I managed to knock my BAHA (bone-anchored) hearing aid out of its metal prong that’s drilled in my head. The very expensive, and practically irreplaceable) hearing aid bounced twice then fell down this drain:

Drain, Wareham, Dorset - August 2011

Without it I’m pretty much completely deaf. And silence is not golden, I can tell you, so I wasn’t happy. There was a car packed over the grid at the time too... But while I fell to my knees in the street, cursing my luck, my wife popped into the fishing tackle shop we were next to and emerged 30 seconds later with a long-reach gripper thing. A minute later the hearing aid was back in and working Perfectly. (Well, it was working as well as it has done since someone stood on it in the mosh pit at a Godflesh gig in Birmingham last October…)

The weather cleared and Lulworth Cove was great. I even managed to get the focussing on my scope to sort of work again.

Shore Crab, Lulworth Cove, Dorset - August 2011

Day 5 – Today was the time we were to leave Dorset and head off for a week in Devon. I'd be leaving the prime Dartford Warbler territory. Using all my negotiating skills, I wangled a solo trip to Studland Heath, west of Poole Harbour, first thing in the morning while the rest of the family visited Monkey World.

It was a beautiful morning. No sooner had I walked to the top of the slope from the layby where I’d parked, and I saw a pair of Dartford Warblers! Fantastic! Two bobbing little shuttlecocks, floating from a gorse bush to the heather and thistles. In flight, each bird looked like a tiny grey Long-tailed Tit on the end of a string. The big head, slight body, and long cocked tail were obvious as they perched. Ha! Lovely stuff. Very happy.

So, I was grinning as we set off for East Devon, and even more so when my wife agreed that another trip to Lodmoor RSPB. The Stilt Sandpiper was apparently “showing well” on the western end of the reserve. My luck was in, and I got some great views of that bird and lots of others. Click here for a full write-up with photos and video.

Stilt Sandpiper, Lodmoor RSPB, Dorset - August 2011

Day 6 – Pretty much a birding-free day, as we enjoyed the delights of the West Somerset Railway Association Steam Fair, near Taunton. My son Luke sat awestruck and watched the tractors, while Rowan drove a train: a full-sized diesel shunter from the docks of the Manchester Ship Canal…

Day 7 – Now then, this is how to go birding: from a tram! Seaton Tramway travels between Seaton and Seaton and Colyton (near to where we were staying) and passes through the nature reserves of Seaton Marshes and Colyford Common, along the lovely Axe estuary. You get such a great view over the mashes from the top deck of the trams – they even run special bird-watching-by-tram trips, using the trams as mobile hides. Even though we weren’t on one of these specials, we had great views of Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Curlew, and the ubiquitous Little Egret, plus loads more.

Day 8 – Common Buzzard over our farm in the morning. The afternoon was spent on the beach at Lyme Regis and I managed to sneak off for a while to check out the birds around the harbour. I’d bought Dr Colin Dawes' great book Bird-watching Where Dorset Meets Devon, and he recommends checking out the area around the Cobb.

Me sat on the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset - August 2011

From here, looking west over the shingle, I could pick out at least five Rock Pipits among the Pied Wagtails. Taking a closer look I came across a lovely female Northern Weather feeding on the tideline.

Northern Wheatear, Lyme Regis, Dorset - August 2011

Day 9 – While my wife and kids visited a friend on their farm near Honiton, I went deep into Devon in the hope of seeing a reported Black Kite at Kennerleigh. To cut a long story short: I didn’t see it, despite there being plenty of food for it:

Black Kite food? - Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

But, I did have an excellent few hours at Ashridge Farm. I’ve never seen so many Common Buzzards in one place. Or seen so many Ravens in one place, and so close.

Common Buzzards, Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

Common Buzzards, Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

Common Buzzard and Raven feathers, Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

The sun was out and I took the opportunity to lie back and watch the Buzzards and Ravens soar overhead and the butterflies flutter through the wheat, while listening to the hoo-weet of the Willow Warblers and the chitter of Swallows. Idyllic.

Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

Sunflower, Ashridge Farm, Kennerleigh, Devon - August 2011

Day 10 – Pecorama! Brilliant, brilliant place. The kids loved it too.

Small Tortoiseshell, Pecorama, Beer, Devon - August 2011

Day 11 – The last chance of the holiday for me to get to see that Devon speciality, the Cirl Bunting. And there are few places better to try than Labrador Bay RSPB, near Teignmouth. Successful? Oh yes – full story, photos and video here.

Cirl Bunting, Labrador Bay RSPB, Teignmouth, Devon - August 2011

Days 12 and 13 – Some fossiling at Lyme Regis and whatnot, and then making our way home.

A top, top holiday in fabulous countryside. The family activities were great, as was the birding. Must get back down there again soon.

White-winged Black Tern at Nosterfield Quarry, North Yorkshire

Happy days... Another new bird for me this week: a White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) at Nosterfield Quarry, near Ripon in North Yorkshire, UK. After work on Wednesday this week, I was lucky enough to be able to make the quick trip up the A1 to see it.

White-winged Black Tern, Nosterfield Quarry, near Ripon, North Yorkshire - 17th August 2011

White-winged Black Tern, Nosterfield Quarry, near Ripon, North Yorkshire - 17th August 2011

It was flying over the far side of the reserve’s Lingham Lake when I arrived, jinking madly as it dipped down to the water for food or took evasive action from the chasing gulls. Each twist and turn made the black and white of the plumage flash like a signal. It appeared to be in adult plumage, although moulting into its winter form.

It finally came to rest on a pontoon nearer to the lookout that's provided for visitors, though this was still some way off. This is why my photographs aren’t so good, but at least I got some record shots.

Surprisingly, there were no birders around when I arrived, and the ones that did turn up were not aware of the scarce migrant tern in front of them until I mentioned it. Still, there was enough to keep any birder happy, the highlight being the great views of a Common Crane on the near shore.

Common Crane, Nosterfield Quarry, near Ripon, North Yorkshire - 17th August 2011

Common Crane, Nosterfield Quarry, near Ripon, North Yorkshire - 17th August 2011

I managed some video, although by this time the warden had come to lock up and he obviously relished telling people about the reserve. He was certainly a very helpful bloke, but he did talk incessantly for ages... At present I don’t have the ability to remove the audio track from my Samsung point-and-click video output; I use YouTube Video Editor in the “Cloud” to edit my videos at the moment – and there’s no permanent mute function available. So, there’s a fair bit of irrelevant talking on the audio…



There was an impressive number of Lapwings around, somewhere in the order of 750 around that one lake, I reckon. Plus at least five Ruff, 10+ Curlew, five Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Little Egret, lots of gulls (no time/inclination to count these), and many Greylag Geese (lots of noisy movement from these as they came in to roost -  a great sound and sight),

I’ve heard a lot of good reports about Nosterfield Quarry and its wildlife, and there have certainly been some good birds found here. Looks worthy of a longer visit sometime. Nice looking reserve, with plenty of places to explore and all in the middle of a working quarry. If you’re looking for an unassuming nature reserve with some hidden working-quarry-danger, try a visit to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Willington Gravel Pits reserve…

Stilt Sandpiper at Lodmoor RSPB, Dorset - August 2011

Stilt Sandpiper, Lodmor RSPB, Dorset - 5th August 2011

In a similar way to the Marsh Sandpiper at Blacktoft Sands, I caught up with this Stilt Sandpiper at the tail end of its stay, after assuming it would be long gone before I got down to the area for my family holiday.

The Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) is bird of the Americas, breeding in the arctic north and wintering in Central and South America. It’s rare in Europe, but not unknown. Well, it was unknown to me, in the sense that I’d never seen one before. So I insisted (well, pleaded) that the family visit the reserve where one had been sighted as soon as we arrived in the area.

A quick look on the Internet convinced me that adult Stilt Sandpiper’s on passage in Europe do not hang around. Luckily for me I got to see the bird, and had plenty of time to study it, but not after dipping at the first attempt. Common and Green were the only “sandpipers” I saw, plus their calidrid cousin, the Dunlin.

The Stilt Sandpiper was present at Lodmoor RSPB, Weymouth, from the morning of 24th July to 7th August 2011. Initially, the bird favoured eastern area of the reserve. But this is a difficult area to view, and after a couple of hours (as long as my wife was prepared to give me) on Monday 1st August I had failed to see it.

Fortunately for me, the weather was hot and sunny in Dorset all, meaning we had a great holiday, and the western scrape at Lodmoor dried up enough to force the birds to the wetter western end. I was here on Friday 5th August.

Stilt Sandpiper, Lodmor RSPB, Dorset - 5th August 2011

Stilt Sandpiper, Lodmor RSPB, Dorset - 5th August 2011

The Stilt Sandpiper stuck out like sore thumb. Not because of its long, yellowy legs, its clear supercillium, or its long, black, slightly decurved bill. No, because of the barred pattern that extended from on the bird’s chest right down its belly and flanks to the tail, leaving only a clear white area around the vent – an unusual pattern for a sandpiper, with perhaps only the much, much larger Eurasian Curlew having a similar(-ish) pattern.

The other feature of note was the bird’s size. It is similar to Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) in being larger than the “stints”, like the Dunlins it was feeding near, yet smaller that the other non-plover waders, like the Godwits, ‘Shanks and Curlews. It had this lovely rufous cheeck patch too.

A really interesting and attractive bird. Fortunately, I also managed to get some video footage of the bird feeding, showing it’s feeding technique quite well.



Holidays in unfamiliar places often means you get to see unfamiliar birds, but I didn’t expect to see this in Dorset when I booked the holiday! Bonus.