Oare Marshes

A Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, on passage, almost the first bird I saw at Oare today! There were also birds at Reculver and Elmley on the same day, presumably birds moving south from Scandinavia, rather than from the tiny breeding population in North Scotland. Nice to see the slim gawky movements, the bold white speckling on the back, the strong white eyestripe, prominent even behind the eye, the gradual merging of the streaking of the neck and throat into the whitish belly. I thought it was quite whitish in front of the wing, and I could not see any barring on the flank, so probably already properly in winter plumage. Not a tiny bird, but a little smaller than the Redshank, with a shorter bill.