*Mayday Mayday! Grey-headed Lapwing at Low Newton scrapes, Northumberland 1 May 2023.*

‘There are some birds you just can’t say no to’ Ken Shaw. This was another. Mark Varley and I were very late to the party but happily the Bank Holiday roads were clear of traffic and we made good progress to Low Newton, where the Grey-headed Lapwing was still present by a small pool behind the avocet colony. Repeat avocet colony! There’s a sentence that would have been unthinkable when I first visited this lovely spot on the Northumberland coast on 16 May 1981. I see from my notebook that I saw two new birds here on that day – Little Gull and Common Stonechat. I couldn’t imagine what I would be watching here 42 years later! 8000km from home Grey-headed Lapwing is one of the most extreme vagrants that I’ve seen in the UK, and closest I’d seen before today was Kaziranga in Assam. It looked to be feeding in the damp grass between the two pools of Gary Woodburn, the finder’s scrape just behind the village. Patting the ground with its feet, like gulls do. It got some hassle from the avocets so I will be surprised if it settles here for long. As we watched it, Sand Martins skimmed the water’s surface, and a Yellow Wagtail was among the Pied Wagtails on the near edge of the pool. Shelduck, Gadwall and shoveler were also in residence, what a terrific little place! Some familiar faces included Adam Archer and Tony Barter on their day tour of the England. This morning they were watching Forster’s Tern on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour!!! Lee Evans also rolled up before sunset. However, things are not all well in Northumberland, we couldn’t find a single chippy open in Seahouses after 8 o’clock and had to make do with a kebab instead. What is this country coming to?

GREY-HEADED LAPWING AT LOW NEWTON - FIRST FOR BRITAIN