Dear all,
Having heard that a Pectoral Sandpiper had been seen at Oare on Sunday afternoon, what better excuse was there to go this morning and stay for high tide - as if I needed an excuse!
Well, to cut a long story short - there was no Pectoral Sandpiper by 2pm when I left, but the wader list was pretty impressive:
400 Black Tailed Godwits in total, split roughly 50/50 between the two lagoons.
10 Ruff
110 Dunlin - most of these were on the west lagoon at 10:30am but soon all bar 10 flew towards Shellness and at high tide they didn't return.
4 Whimbrel on West lagoon at high tide, on shoreline at low tide.
4 Green Sandpipers
3 Common Sandpipers
2 Turnstone - East lagoon
Knot - 1 in summer plumage on East lagoon
2 Little Ringed Plovers - 1 on each lagoon
5 Little Egrets
4 Ruddy Ducks - East lagoon
2 Marsh Harriers
juvenile Yellow Wagtail in the scrub on the West lagoon
Not bad - although no Spotted Redshanks or Greenshanks to be found. In answer to a question posted in response to my Friday visit, all the Spotted Redshanks I've seen in the past week have been in their winter/non-breeding plumage, ie greyish looking with maybe a few black feathers on the breast.
Best wishes,
Lancey
Having heard that a Pectoral Sandpiper had been seen at Oare on Sunday afternoon, what better excuse was there to go this morning and stay for high tide - as if I needed an excuse!
Well, to cut a long story short - there was no Pectoral Sandpiper by 2pm when I left, but the wader list was pretty impressive:
400 Black Tailed Godwits in total, split roughly 50/50 between the two lagoons.
10 Ruff
110 Dunlin - most of these were on the west lagoon at 10:30am but soon all bar 10 flew towards Shellness and at high tide they didn't return.
4 Whimbrel on West lagoon at high tide, on shoreline at low tide.
4 Green Sandpipers
3 Common Sandpipers
2 Turnstone - East lagoon
Knot - 1 in summer plumage on East lagoon
2 Little Ringed Plovers - 1 on each lagoon
5 Little Egrets
4 Ruddy Ducks - East lagoon
2 Marsh Harriers
juvenile Yellow Wagtail in the scrub on the West lagoon
Not bad - although no Spotted Redshanks or Greenshanks to be found. In answer to a question posted in response to my Friday visit, all the Spotted Redshanks I've seen in the past week have been in their winter/non-breeding plumage, ie greyish looking with maybe a few black feathers on the breast.
Best wishes,
Lancey
