2 Curlew Sandpipers in breeding plumage, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 11 Dunlin, 13 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 700+ Avocets, 100+ Great Black-backed Gulls, 70+ Black-headed Gulls, 3+ Common Gulls, Larus canus, 4 Common Tern, 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 adult and 9 young Shelduck, 20+ Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, 1 male Ruddy Duck, 20+ Redshank, 10+ Greenshank.
The Curlew Sandpipers, Calidris ferruginea, were absolutely fantastic. The most obvious feature was the patchy rusty red chests, against a white background as the wind fluttered the feathers.The next feature seen was the dark eyestripe against the whitish background of the face - the white being the clear pale supercilium above the eye, and the whitish area of the cheek below the darker eyestripe. The back was grey-brown in comparison, and I thought I saw the scalloping type pattern. The birds were not there very long, and when they flew I looked carefully for a wing bar, which I did clearly see, about the same visibility as a Dunlin. I thought I also caught the whitish rump above the darker tail tip, bit I must admit I was concentrating on the wings and should have looked at the rump as well. Overall the bird was slender and stylish, and I compared it in my mind to Audrey Hepburn! When I described what I had seen to a very nice chap scoping the birds a bit further up, he named it as Curlew Sandpiper (we agreed that a Knot was significantly larger and chunkier, with a much shorter bill). When I checked BWP it seemed to fit. It was when I checked the images on the internet and the Collins Guide that I was convinced the ID was correct.
This is one of the Black-headed Gulls in flight, showing the dark underwing:
And here is one of the two or three Common gulls I saw in with the other Black-headed Gulls I saw roosting at the estuary end of Flamingo Pool:
This is the one Greenshank up this end of the reserve. Talk about Audrey Hepburn again!
This is a Little Egret and two Dunlins.
As today's new acquaintance drove off from the barrier at the Meadwall, I caught sight of a smallish wader zigzagging towards me low along the ditch to the right of the track. Very black and some white in appearance. My first impression was actually of a dark hirundine with stiffer wings (the RSPB website says it resembles a House Martin in flight). The old PDH field guide refers to rapid flight with jerky snipe-like wingbeats. It settled and vanished so I got the telescope set up. To my astonishment I quickly got on to it, and saw a sandpiper very dark on top and very pale underneath, not small. The throat and chest were dark (no "white peak" between the wing and throat), and I thought "sandpiper" in general appearance but it wasn't bobbing (although Green Sandpipers do bob) and looked too dark above to be a Common Sandpiper.
Later as Monty put it up again I heard a twit-twit-twit (characteristic three note whistly tone) call and saw a bright white rump - it was a Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus! This looked just like the bird I saw about 18 months ago on a nearby ditch and the two I saw nearby two autumns ago but misidentified originally, and I was really happy to feel that the mystery has now been completely solved in my head, with a rather excellent view today. The call was great confirmation and a low zig-zagging flight is also a characteristic of the bird's behaviour. The best estimate of the known UK winter population is about 900 birds, together with an occasional breeding pair, but this seems to be a fairly reliable site for them.
The Ruddy Duck on Black Barn Pool 2 was an incredible sight.with a blue bill that looked as if it had just come out of a Dulux Gloss colour catalogue. The bright white face, black cap and rufous body with a long perky tail were like a vision of colour. I only saw the bird for a moment and did not rediscover it despite searching for where it should have been.
The Curlew Sandpipers, Calidris ferruginea, were absolutely fantastic. The most obvious feature was the patchy rusty red chests, against a white background as the wind fluttered the feathers.The next feature seen was the dark eyestripe against the whitish background of the face - the white being the clear pale supercilium above the eye, and the whitish area of the cheek below the darker eyestripe. The back was grey-brown in comparison, and I thought I saw the scalloping type pattern. The birds were not there very long, and when they flew I looked carefully for a wing bar, which I did clearly see, about the same visibility as a Dunlin. I thought I also caught the whitish rump above the darker tail tip, bit I must admit I was concentrating on the wings and should have looked at the rump as well. Overall the bird was slender and stylish, and I compared it in my mind to Audrey Hepburn! When I described what I had seen to a very nice chap scoping the birds a bit further up, he named it as Curlew Sandpiper (we agreed that a Knot was significantly larger and chunkier, with a much shorter bill). When I checked BWP it seemed to fit. It was when I checked the images on the internet and the Collins Guide that I was convinced the ID was correct.
This is one of the Black-headed Gulls in flight, showing the dark underwing:
And here is one of the two or three Common gulls I saw in with the other Black-headed Gulls I saw roosting at the estuary end of Flamingo Pool:
This is the one Greenshank up this end of the reserve. Talk about Audrey Hepburn again!
This is a Little Egret and two Dunlins.
As today's new acquaintance drove off from the barrier at the Meadwall, I caught sight of a smallish wader zigzagging towards me low along the ditch to the right of the track. Very black and some white in appearance. My first impression was actually of a dark hirundine with stiffer wings (the RSPB website says it resembles a House Martin in flight). The old PDH field guide refers to rapid flight with jerky snipe-like wingbeats. It settled and vanished so I got the telescope set up. To my astonishment I quickly got on to it, and saw a sandpiper very dark on top and very pale underneath, not small. The throat and chest were dark (no "white peak" between the wing and throat), and I thought "sandpiper" in general appearance but it wasn't bobbing (although Green Sandpipers do bob) and looked too dark above to be a Common Sandpiper.
Later as Monty put it up again I heard a twit-twit-twit (characteristic three note whistly tone) call and saw a bright white rump - it was a Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus! This looked just like the bird I saw about 18 months ago on a nearby ditch and the two I saw nearby two autumns ago but misidentified originally, and I was really happy to feel that the mystery has now been completely solved in my head, with a rather excellent view today. The call was great confirmation and a low zig-zagging flight is also a characteristic of the bird's behaviour. The best estimate of the known UK winter population is about 900 birds, together with an occasional breeding pair, but this seems to be a fairly reliable site for them.
The Ruddy Duck on Black Barn Pool 2 was an incredible sight.with a blue bill that looked as if it had just come out of a Dulux Gloss colour catalogue. The bright white face, black cap and rufous body with a long perky tail were like a vision of colour. I only saw the bird for a moment and did not rediscover it despite searching for where it should have been.
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