Black Winged Stilt

[keithyed]

at last he got close enough to get a decent picture
he has been a long resident at Titchwell as i am sure all the norfolk people know.[IMG]

[robinm]

Good to see Sammy again.

Looks like you got the uploading cracked :t:

[pduxon]

those legs!! I'm sure he'll collapse one day!!

[AndyC]

Isn't Sammy reckoned to be the most photographed bird in the country?

AndyC

[scottishdude]

Just to upset you lol, I took this about 2 weeks ago, he came within 20 feet of the hide. I am sure the Forum could put on 'The best Sammy Shot'

cheers

[Marmot]

I just put a photo of "Sammy" in the database a couple of days ago, somehow no picture had ever been put as the main picture. :eek!:

Anyway to save BF's |:$| a great picture of Sammy by Nigel Blake has been uploaded and there is the link to other pictures of Sammy and his relatives from all over the World.

Here is a link to it.http://www.birdforum.net/bird_view.php?bid=1216

[nickwarn37]

at last he got close enough to get a decent picture
he has been a long resident at Titchwell as i am sure all the norfolk people know.[IMG]
His Name is SAMMY and believe he's about 11 years old.

[walwyn]

At the end of August I was in this hide at the Marais d'Yves (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=23411) going "ooh, ooh, ooh! Black-winged stilt!" and was met with a Gallic shrug and the comment "en quantité industrielle".

[Reader]

I was lucky to catch Sammy in a confiding mood last May. I was about to leave Norfolk to go home and was passing Titchwell quite late. Just on a whim decided to call in for the 2nd time that day (no sign of sammy earlier that day) and was rewarded with him dropping down in front of me.

I have seen possibly thousands of B W stilts abroad but seeing Sammy is always a special moment.

I have attached a couple of the photos from that encounter.

[postcardcv]

The stilt has been very obliging for mush of the last few weeks - spending a lot of time either at the near side of the brackish pool, or in front of Parrinder hide.
Here is my best shot from the other week...

[Darren Oakley-Martin]

Someone told me that you can't 'officially' tick Sammy anymore cos he apparently escaped from a private park in Norfolk. Anyone know anything more about this? My life list is short enough as it is.

Nice pics by the way!

[David Bryant]

Just rumours! Sammy's as likely to be gen as any bird you ever saw! It was said he'd hopped the wire at Pensthorpe with a King Eider and a Demoiselle Crane for company! LOL! Oh! And a Sab's Gull too!
Load of tosh!

[postcardcv]

Someone told me that you can't 'officially' tick Sammy anymore cos he apparently escaped from a private park in Norfolk. Anyone know anything more about this? My life list is short enough as it is.

Nice pics by the way!

No chance - such rumours are always going round - but I think most think the stilt's a 'genuine' bird, so it can stay on the list...
the rumour was discussed on a previous thread - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=23648

[Highway Man]

No chance - such rumours are always going round - but I think most think the stilt's a 'genuine' bird, so it can stay on the list...
the rumour was discussed on a previous thread - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=23648

I remember seeing Sammy when he first touched down in Northumberland, July 1993 if my memory serves me well.

Mark

[cuddy]

Yes he is ours give him back ;) .


Cuddy.
Live from Northumberland.

[James Eaton]

I remember seeing it after a YOC Storm Petrel ringing session at Whitburn, I saw it with a Pied-billed Grebe on the same pool at Duridge Bay NR when I was just 11 back in 1993 too! How the memory still wears on.

It then moved down to Snettisham before moving on to Titchwell.

[Bluetail]

Someone told me that you can't 'officially' tick Sammy anymore cos he apparently escaped from a private park in Norfolk. Anyone know anything more about this? My life list is short enough as it is.

Nice pics by the way!Oh dear, is this tripe still doing the rounds? It should be treated with the derision it deserves.

Here is the BBRC report of Sammy's first appearance:
http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=157865&postcount=6

So he/she first turned up at Druridge Pool, Northumberland on 31 July - 16 August 1993. Two days later (s)he reappeared at Snettisham and has been on the north Norfolk coast ever since. That's what the BBRC thinks and nobody's ever come up with any evidence to the contrary.

[scottishdude]

Well some of us freshers do like to know so I woudn't call it tripe!

Does anyone know if any others frequent our coast at other times of the year?

[Bluetail]

Hi there, scottishdude. I certainly wasn't criticising Darrenom, you or anyone else for asking. It's a very reasonable question and if I didn't know the history I'd be asking too. It's the rumour itself that is tripe.

With rarities it's always a good thing to ask whether the bird might be an escape and, if so, from where. But if the bird stays more than a couple of weeks you can almost guarantee that some gullible birder will hear an escape theory, think it sounds highly plausible and promote it to the status of established fact - and in no time the rumour's all over the grapevine. Of course, some birds do get traced back to captivity, so you can see how it happens, but it's uncritical to say the least.

Sorry if I'm sounding a bit irritable. I suppose it's just that I don't like to hear good birds being devalued and disparaged (because for some inexplicable reason that's often the tone of voice that accompanies these rumours).

[timmyjones]

How long has sammy been at titchwell over 12 years and no one has traced him back to captivity i think he is a genuine vagrant does anyone know which coast he turned up on as this would indicate if he is american or european bird

[Nutcracker]

How long has sammy been at titchwell over 12 years and no one has traced him back to captivity i think he is a genuine vagrant does anyone know which coast he turned up on as this would indicate if he is american or european bird

Hi Timmy - definitely European, the American stilt is a different species (Black-necked Stilt), with a different plumage (as the name suggests, black on the rear of its neck and head)

And the first port of call was on the east coast in Northumberland (but rare European birds can turn up on the west coast, and American birds on the east coast ;))

[Tim100]

Stupid question but why hasn't he ever left?

And why haven't more turned up?

And finally what part of the world is BWS natural habitat?

Thanks,

Tim

[blgp_birder]

Why havent more turned up? What a year 2005 has been for Black-winged Stilts after the recent lull! 4 in Essex yesterday, plus 2 at Frampton-upon-Severn today, not to mention a host of singletons!

Go and see a proper bird I say - none of this "I'll just sit here for 11 years and wait for you to tick me off" rubbish ;-)

[Quacker]

Wor Sammy is a Geordie man!