Well, tonight was exciting on the patch! Literally, the first bird I see at the pools on Little Marsh is a Baird's Sandpiper! Another local birder (Steve Windle) had already found the bird and he had pretty much already concluded it was a Baird's Sandpiper, but understandably he wanted to see it closer and get some better photos. So it was exciting to be there and help confirm the identification with him. A great find Steve! The last record for Devon was 2015 on the Axe Estuary (thanks Mark Bailey for the stats). It seems to be a first for the Otter Estuary too!
Rare waders have certainly been on my radar this autumn as there has been a significant influx of nearctic waders into the SW. I'm just chuffed the Baird's chose the local patch! Also great to see a few locals connect with it tonight including Rick, Clive and Leon. The Baird’s was very flighty tonight and called a lot (low toned prrrt) as it bombed up and down the north end of Big Marsh before settling again on Little Marsh.
Prior to all this excitement, my highlight was seeing a Juv Arctic Tern sheltering from the wind on one of the islands on South Marsh. A rare bird here too and my first actually on the Otter Estuary.
 |
| Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper, Little Marsh. The pale loral spot, mini pec band, scaly upperparts and long wings all visible on these photos. To quote Richard Millington's Twitcher's Diary a "mini weetabix on legs!" |
 |
| Juvenile Arctic Tern, Big Marsh South |
 |
| Tiny legs! |
No comments:
Post a Comment