WADING IN

I`ve been on the hunt for curlew sandpiper for the past few weeks and finally caught up with a single bird at Backsand this afternoon,but missed the little stints that have been hanging out at Restharrow.Two visits to Oare last week were interesting but not fantastic with lots of black tailed godwits,avocets and redshank making the volume and golden plover, ruff, and knot in the supporting cast.A trek to Backsand finally paid dividends today with the single bird that stubbornly kept its distance and then a young peregrine scattered everything to the four winds bringing a premature end to my visit.

BLACK TAILED GODWIT on the stretch.

RUFF and B T GODWIT

KNOT and REDSHANK

RUFF The hunchback of Oare

BLACK TAILED GODWIT

CURLEW SANDPIPER with redshank showing white rump.

CURLEW SANDPIPER as close as it came before the peregrine.
There were plenty of greenshank green and common  sandpipers redshank and dunlin on the scrape as well as a couple of wigeon a dozen teal and two tufted ducks,also half a dozen little egrets were particularly noisy and feisty toward each other.
Nothing much else to report except for an unsuccessful search for two Dotterel at Abbotscliff on wednesday afternoon with Paul and Derek from the Hoe.

DEREK SMITH with a ship on his shoulder after dotterel failure.
My first autumnal encounter with the St Margarets ringers on thursday morning was interesting for the number of birds netted (about 120) when you could see or hear very few ,you do wonder sometimes what you miss.It was mainly the common warblers being caught the exception being a grasshopper warbler,caught of course before my arrival,the last bird rung was also unusual as it was a mistle thrush,not caught very often evidently.Another bird of note was my first Ring Ouzel of the autumn,a juvenile bird at Fan Bay.

MISTLE THRUSH looking a bit tatty in its moult.
A clouded yellow was seen on Sunday morning at the cliffs,my first of the year and this speckled wood was enjoying the warm sunshine.

SPECKLED WOOD.