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Sanderling

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MORE SANDERLING ACTION

Sanderling on Alston No.#1, 24 May 2020 (Mike Watson).

‘EVERY ARCTIC-BREEDING SHOREBIRD THAT LANDS AT ALSTON IS A PRIVILEGE’ is what Gav said about the first of this year’s Sanderlings and in the continuing strong westerly winds our walks elsehwere on our local patch had not been productive, so a trip to No.1 was the obvious choice this morning. It was feeding along the sheltered west bank of the ‘velodrome’ that is Alston No. 1 at the moment. Alexander is getting there in stalking birds and was able to get very close to it, being much smaller than me! He also managed to move it along to me, down to within minimum focus at times, it was easily the tamest of the eight Sanderling I have seen here so far this month. Fab-u-lous!

We still have a lot to learn about where the Sanderlings occurring in the UK breed in the Arctic. It could be Siberia (there is a recovery from there ringed on the Norfolk side of the Wash) but Tees-side-ringed Sanderlings have staged in Iceland, maybe bound for East Greenland or even the Canadian Arctic? It is amazing to think where the little bird today is bound for. Bird migration is awesome! Thanks to Gavin Thomas for finding today’s Sanderling.

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SANDERLING AT ALSTON

Sanderling in breeding plumage, Alston Wetland - note the impression of a pale supercilium in this shot.

A SANDERLING AT ALSTON WETLAND was the highlight of my morning as well as being my most wanted this week. I had failed to catch up with four at Stocks this week and around 70 were reported from inland sites across the country yesterday so I was hoping that at least one would stop off at Alston in the heavy downpours. The arctic-breeding shorebird passage isn't quite over yet! Looking surprisingly stint-like (I was hoping that it would be a mis-identified Temminck's Stint but I was still delighted with a Sanderling!) they can be very confusing at times but this one had massive white wing bars as well as showing the diagnostic lack of a hind toe when on dry mud. At a greater distance it would have presented more of a problem. Just as rare for Alston was a superb drake Northern Pintail on the main lagoon. I wonder what it was doing here. Two Lesser Whitethroats were singing along the hedge line on Pinfold Lane, as were a couple of Common Whitethroats and also on the wetland were four LRPs and a Common Ringed Plover. The previous evening had produced a breeding plumaged Dunlin but nothing else of note and by this evening Common Ringed Plovers had increased to three but the Sanderling had moved on. Now for my next ELOC project… Hobby.

ELOC year list 138. Sanderling

Sanderling, Alston Wetland.

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