Getting back to birds on the reserve ...
Little Stint was first recorded at Upton Warren on the 30th September 1967 by Bill Oddie and remains an uncommon passage visitor to the reserve following its long distance migration from its Arctic tundra breeding grounds to winter in sub-Saharan Africa. Most records relate to single juvenile birds observed in September. However a staggering 37 Little Stints were present on the 25th September 1996 by Gordon Greaves and Andy Warr (27 at the Flashes and 10 at the Moors Pool) as part of a large movement that saw over 500 birds in the West Midlands. The next largest flock recorded is 14 birds that were present on the 14th September 1998. Outside these two influx years the only other counts of more than two birds were flocks of three present on the 23rd and 24th September 1985 and the 1st to 3rd September 1986.
Little Stints are very occasionally observed on spring passage during May, such as the bird present on the 27th May 1993 in the company of a Curlew Sandpiper. However the vast majority of records come from their return passage which can stretch between August and October but with a marked peak in occurrence during September (the attached charts has included a degree of guesswork when it comes to interpreting the multiple records of 1996 and 1998). The earliest records were both summer plumaged individuals seen on the 13th May in 1994 and again on the same date in 2002. The latest bird recorded was a juvenile seen on the 1st November 1987.
Special mention needs to be made of the extraordinary events of 1996, repeated on a smaller scale in 1998. The 1996 series of records was part of a national influx in a period which also saw a number of other very high regional counts, such as 103 birds at Blithfield Reservoir and 75 at Draycote Water. The influx began on the 14th September when three birds arrived at the Flashes. With ideal muddy conditions prevalent groups of birds kept arriving and were soon scattered in small flocks across the reserve, moving to the Flashes to roost at night. By the 21st September 21 birds were present but the passage continued. On the 25th a total of 27 birds were counted at the Flashes plus a further ten at the Moors Pool producing a reserve record of 37 birds. This saw the zenith of the influx; the next day saw just 23 birds present and the exodus gathered pace so that by the 1st October just four birds were left. A single bird was present on the 2nd October before it also departed.
In 1998 a single juvenile was present from the 4th September, remaining until the 6th. Four were then present on the 7th September, being joined by further flocks of eight and two during the day. All but two departed overnight, with these remaining until the 9th. A single arrived on the 12th, to be followed by three more the next day. Only one remained on the 14th but this increased to two again on the 15th. One bird was then present on the 16th and 17th. The numbers of Little Stints potentially involved varied from a minimum of 18 to a maximum of 25 birds.
Most birds stay just one or two days but the longest staying identifiable individual was a bird present between the 12th and 27th September 1978. A flock of five birds seen on the 17th June 1976 was earlier observed at Bittell Reservoir but many birds remain untraced. Despite the recent down-turn in records Upton Warren is by far the most frequented site in Worcestershire.
). Just continue doing what you are doing and I will stop worrying / caring about Middleton how is projected.
