September finished on an apologetic 103 species, the lowest total recorded for this month. The list included just tens species of wader and only one tern species. With the year list on 144 species potential additions in October include:
Egyptian Goose, Barnacle Goose, Goldeneye, Scaup, Great White Egret, Little Stint, Merlin, GBB Gull, Rock Pipit, Brambling
Looking back through the forum entries for September it would appear that we actually had
11 species of wader on the reserve. These were: LRP, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Dunlin, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper.
Scrutinising the current decade (via the annual reports and the forum for the years 2015 & 2016) reveals that this relatively small total is not without precedent. Only 11 species of wader were observed during the September of 2012, whilst the September of 2011 saw just
10 of this class of bird visit the reserve. The latter example comes as something of a surprise when one considers that
155 species were seen over the course of that year, and that Dave Walker broke the record for the number of different species seen by one individual at Upton Warren. A record which stands to this day.
The best total so far this decade came in 2010 when
18 different species of wader were seen during September. This total was aided by the last sightings to date of
Pectoral Sandpiper and
Grey Phalarope on the reserve, and included the classic autumnal trio of
Spotted Redshank,
Curlew Sandpiper and
Little Stint.
Over the course of the current decade
25 wader species have been sighted at Upton Warren during the month of September. Other notable occurrences include
Temminck's Stint(2014) and of course Worcestershire's first and to date only
Baird's Sandpiper(2016).
Finally, it is worth noting that the
Wood Sandpiper found by JTB on the 4th is the only record of the species on the reserve during September this millennium!
