Video & stills from lower hide at the Flashes
News broke on Friday evening that a Baird's Sandpiper had been discovered at Upton Warren. By an amazing coincidence I'd been considering twitching the same species in Hatfield and it was only because the birds appearance had been very sketchy I'd held back. But would the American wader stick over night. Heavy rain throughout the night definitely increased the chances.
Chief Warden John Belsey issued
clear instructions for everyone to follow and I managed to get the final space
on the car park before heading down to the Flashes at 6.10am. Negative news
greeted me as I past John however as I dived into the ground floor of the hide
Mike Wakeman declared positive news and the bird was feeding well on the far
side of the flash. The light and weather were still poor so I made the decision to return on Sunday afternoon if the bird stayed, hence only the images taken on Sunday are shown above)
It was very interesting to note
how the body did appeared flattened or squashed and the bird was smaller than I
expected. It was interesting to get a size comparison with a Green Sandpiper
that chased it a couple of times.
This was the fourth record for
the West Midlands, previous records were all in Staffordshire, making it a
first for Worcestershire. Just rewards for John & all the team at Upton Warren who work so
hard at the reserve.
The organisation on the day
made it a very enjoyable morning and it was certainly appreciated by all the
visitors. I must add I find Worcestershire birders are the most friendliest and welcoming, very different to some of the snobbish attitudes of birders living in a slightly different location.
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