Spot the Marsh Sandpiper ?
Small groups of twitchers were present
Touchdown Kent
This chap was too close to see anything
The Squire short-cut !
With the cricket season in full swing I've been preferring to do the patch in the morning and watch the lads play than go out twitching on a Saturday. Then when set for a Sunday jolly out nothing is around to go and see. The same scenario looked to be happening again as both potential Sunday targets gave indications on Saturday it would be better waiting for news before travelling.
Thankfully my and the Squires tactics paid off as the Caspian Tern we'd considered seeing disappeared yet again whilst we headed round the M25 to Cliffe Pools in Kent. Safely parked up the walk took a good 30 minutes on a very uneven surface to reach the viewpoint.
Once set up it took around ten minutes for the bird to show well as it had been embedded in the reeds making it very difficult to see. Whilst the views were distant you could comfortably pick up its features including thin straight beak, very delicate build and long legs. This eastern European juvenile seemed pretty comfortable most of the time however there were a couple of times the local Avocets and Black-winged Stilts gave the bird a gentle reminder who was in charge.
The RSPB's local ground work has again worked wondered for the Black-winged Stilts as four juveniles could be observed. Breeding attempts by Stilts has increased since the early 2000's but productivity has been very low. Between 1983 & 2016 only three of the 21 nesting attempts has fledged young.
The journey back took us an extra thirty minutes as the Squire seemed determined to get us in the channel tunnel bound for the Tour de France. After a detour we also avoided the Silverstone Grand Prix traffic. The Marsh Sandpiper was a great bird to add to the life list as they only seem to come around every couple of years. Hopefully that pesky Caspain Tern may reappear close to home as that species continues to be elusive.
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