SANDERLING AT ALSTON

View fullsize

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

View fullsize

Sanderling, Alston Wetland.

NORMAL SERVICE IS RESUMED

View fullsize

Common Reed Bunting, Alston Reservoirs.

SPRING MIGRATION IS COMING TO AN END, with all but the highest Arctic breeding birds already gone through. In fact it will not be long before the return passage starts, usually with Common Scoter and Green Sandpiper leading the way. I thought the rain would ground something this morning and unfortunately I made the wrong choice in trudging around Alston instead of going to Stocks, where I would have seen a Sanderling. Ah well. Breeding birds are well established now and a pair of reed buntings and Sedge Warblers were in the small marsh by No. 1 and a chiffchaff was still belting out its song there too. The LRPs are still on the wetland but there were no passage shorebirds today… yet. Stocks was also quiet and there was nothing ahead for the heavy rain, which hit around 1100. There are at least three pairs of Great Crested Grebes this year and four Red-breasted Mergansers were still around. The pair of Great Black-backed Gulls had a large exclusion zone around them on the island as usual and a couple of Common Sandpipers, a redshank and a drumming snipe from the walled garden were the only shorebirds seen. Garden Warblers seem to be present in good numbers this year with at least four heard between the causeway and old hide. Well that's it for today then. Hopefully there is still time for something interesting before the ELOC area goes to sleep again for the summer. It's a great time of year for an overshoot. 

BLACKTOFT SANDS 30 YEARS ON

View fullsize

Montagu's Harrier (adult female), Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve.

MONTAGU'S HARRIER WAS THE STAR OF MY RETURN TO BLACKTOFT today, only a couple of months short of 30 years since my last visit there (for Britain's first Red-necked Stint). Unfortunately only the female has been seen recently, the male having been seen last eight days ago and she was prospecting far and wide over the reserve, often way up in the sky. We hope he returns and they can breed again in safety deep inside Blacktoft's massive reed bed. Although the Monty's was today's star, when I last visited the Little Egret, which flew under it at one stage today would have been more notable! The reserve now has its own Avocet colony as well as bitterns (three) and Cetti's Warblers in addition to the Marsh Harriers and Bearded Tits, which were the reasons for our regular visits in the 80s, although the endless stream of Turtle Doves we used to see flying along the skyline here are long gone. How times have changed! Other birds here today included a couple of sparrowhawks over the reed bed and Tree Sparrows breeding in the car park.

Some extensive searching around the ELOC area produced a desired Spotted Flycatcher singing in the car park at Stocks but not much else of note in a cool northerly wind. The previous evening I had failed to find a flycatcher around Slaidburn but two whimbrels north from the walled garden at Stocks saved the show now the arctic shorebird passage has all but ended. 

ELOC year list 137. Spotted Flycatcher

KNOT GOOD ENOUGH

View fullsize

Black Terns at Stocks Reservoir high in the sky and thinking about leaving.

A BREEDING PLUMAGED RED KNOT AT STOCKS RES. WAS YESTERDAY'S HIGHLIGHT as the passage of high Arctic breeding waterbirds through East Lancs continues. The five Black Terns were still present along with three (much hoped-for) Arctic Terns, the latter part of a big eastward movement along the Ribble Valley today. A Dunlin and a whimbrel were also at Stocks this evening and up to three woodcocks were riding at dusk over the causeway. My little year continues but although I am closing the gap on the leading pack I will never catch the Breaks gang. One of them will win but the question is which one with Mark away so much at the moment. 

ELOC year list 135. Red Knot 136. Arctic Tern