May is often a good month for finding vagrant birds in the UK and it seems recent weather systems have blown a few across the Atlantic because within the last week I’ve been lucky enough to catch up with two American waders. On Sunday at Cley Marshes, Norfolk, we saw a Lesser Yellowlegs – feeding in pools close to the west bank, along with some Wood Sandpipers and Temminck’s Stints. Even better though, to my mind, was a Spotted Sandpiper that turned up at Caldecotte Lake in Milton Keynes last Thursday [12 May], just a few minutes’ drive from where I work. The Sandpiper was easy to find - sitting at the end of the pontoon from where it had been reported earlier - and I stood watching it, with two or three other birders, from the path leading to the pontoon. We were careful to keep a reasonable distance in case we spooked it; but we needn’t have worried because after a few minutes, incredibly, it got up and walked towards us until it was just few metres away. It doesn’t get much better than that – close up views of an exceptional bird.
I hadn’t expected to go birding that day and so didn’t have my camera with me [wouldn’t you know it!] but Carolyn and Malcolm went to see it later and have kindly let me use one of their photos...
 |
| Spotted Sandpiper |
No comments:
Post a Comment