Draycote Water

A window of opportunity opened late this afternoon enabling me to escape to Draycote for an hour. It was my sole intention to get a local Curlew Sandpiper on my list so I headed out to Hensborough Bank. A couple of birders were looking out over the water at a number of distant Black Terns and these were soon in my scope, rather distant, but I counted at least seven. I then got reasonable views of a solitary juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, accompanied by four Ringed Plovers and four Dunlin. While enjoying the birds, a large inflated plastic bag spun along the shore line, sending the waders into the air, luckily landing again close by. A family group of eastern Europeans ambled along the bank, content with allowing their children to clamber along the rocks. Obviously this was causing disturbance to the feeding waders forcing them to fly out, so I politely informed them that the rocks concealed hidden shafts that decended hundreds of feet and were big enough to swallow children! The children were soon back on the path!

The lateness of the day resulted in poor light, and with the excellent images posted recently by other birders / photographers, I am rather embarrassed to add the following record shots.

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ringed Plover

Curlew Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Dunlin

Ringed Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin

Dunlin, Ringed Plover

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper & Dunlin

(More appalling record shots can be seen on my website - see link opposite)