Thursday 5 August 2021

(not) LANDGUARD - 4th August

 Lovely, calm and sunny for a walk round Minsmere from first light; the highlights were inevitably the smart wader duo that have been present for the last couple of days with great views of a PECTORAL SANDPIPER and a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, both on East Scrape, sometimes together in the same scope view.   

Other birds round the reserve included a fine array of waders comprising 220+ Avocets, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Whimbrels, 125+ Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Turnstone, 6 Ruff, 25+ Dunlin, 3 Snipe, 6 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers and 19+ Spotted Redshanks as well as a single Little Gull, 30+ Little Terns (including a few smart juveniles – apparently not from anywhere local), one Bittern in flight, a Hobby, 4 Woodlarks on Whin Hill, a single Dartford Warbler along the front and my first returning Wheatear of the autumn on the beach.   

A little look at Melton on the way back then produced some good wader counts including 432 Black-tailed Godwits and 13 Greenshank – both the highest numbers I’ve seen here so far.



A couple of White Admirals


Wheatear


Cool looking Zonaria volucella - a pretty big, Hornet-mimicing Hoverfly


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