The theme of American waders (or 'shorebirds', as they are known in the USA) continued into October, starting with a visit to North Point Pools (east of Wells on the North Norfolk coast) on the 3rd, where I saw my second UK Wilson's Phalarope (distant views only - no images). Afterwards I walked along the coastal path to Wells Harbour (Razorbill, Greenshank and Red-throated Diver) and along the beach to Holkham Gap, coming back to Wells along the path that skirts Wells Woods - a total of around eight miles in very warm, sunny weather.
Juvenile Greenshank, Wells Harbour, 3 October
Razorbill (Moulting into Winter Plumage), Wells Harbour, 3 October
Red-throated Diver, Wells Harbour, 3 October
A Semi-palmated Sandpiper, yet another American wader (and quite a rare one in the UK) prompted me to return to Frampton Marsh on the 5th. This tiny little 'peep' is very similar in size and appearance to the Little Stint, and both species were at Frampton, making identification very tricky. I had arrived a few minutes after the Semi-palmated Sandpiper, having shown well during the morning, had flown off. After a futile wait for it to return I decided to look for the bird from the East Hide. Shortly after I arrived there, a tiny wader appeared and came quite close to the four of us in the hide, allowing us to get some decent photos. Shortly after the bird left, an expert joined us in the hide. I showed him my images and he confidently (and correctly) identified the bird as a juvenile Little Stint. I was a little disappointed, but within a couple of minutes he had found the Semi-palmated Sandpiper, lying on the edge of the scrape about 100 metres away. The bird moved into the water and I got some much more distant photos of it, accompanied by a Dunlin, before it flew off. The main distinguishing features for the Little Stint are that it has a relatively sharp, pointy bill (the S-p S has a blunter bill) and its white supercilium is split into two in front of the eye (not split in the S-p S). Both features are visible in the Stint image below. However, at distance it is very difficult to make out these differences - see the second image!
Juvenile Little Stint, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 October
Semi-palmated Sandpiper (right-hand bird) with Dunlin, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 October
Away from birds, a Wall Butterfly was a surprise find at Hyde Hall RHS gardens in Essex, which I visited with my partner on another very warm, sunny day on the 8th. This must have been a third generation butterfly, on the edge of its range (nowadays they are rarely seen away from the coast in the UK, having previously been much more common inland. The Wall butterfly does not occur in Hertfordshire). I made two visits to Dungeness (Kent) in the middle of the month. The first (on the 17th) was a reconnaissance trip for an RSPB Local Group coach trip that I was leading on the 22nd. I was incredibly lucky with having fine, sunny weather on both dates, because the days in between were horrible, wet and windy. The RSPB reserve's three Glossy Ibises were seen on both days and, whilst the two Whooper Swans that I saw on the 17th had gone by the day of the coach trip, there was ample compensation in the form of Bittern, Spoonbill, Cattle Egrets and Bearded Tits on the latter date, whilst a Black Redstart was seen on the National Nature Reserve. Small Copper butterflies were seen on both days and a very tatty Common Blue seen on the 17th proved to be the last 'blue' butterfly that I would see in 2023. Some images from the trips are shown below.
Bearded Tits on Grit Tray, RSPB Dungeness, 22 October
Golden Plovers in Flight, RSPB Dungeness, 22 October
Small Copper Butterfly, Dungeness NNR, 17 October
Spoonbill in Flight, RSPB Dungeness, 22 October
Reports of a female Ring-necked Duck at Titchmarsh LNR (Northamptonshire) on the 19th encouraged me to go to a reserve that I hadn't visited for at least 20 years. Finding the reserve (it is nowhere near Titchmarsh village and is not signposted at all) proved problematical. My initial perception on reaching the visitor car park was that nothing had changed since I had last visited: it looked very run-down. However, I was amazed to find a brand new hide overlooking the area of the main lake where the bird had been reported and I was pleased to see my target from the hide. The following day saw me driving the 20 miles or so down the A10 to see a Glossy Ibis at Stanstead Abbotts - a 'first' for me in Hertfordshire.
'Record Shot' of the Female Ring-necked Duck, Titchmarsh LNR, 19 October
Glossy Ibis, Stanstead Abbotts, 20 October
After time away lapping up the sunshine in Spain (separate blog post tbd) my final 'twitch' of the month was to see a juvenile Great Northern Diver, off the dam at Grafham Water, on the 30th. The bird was initially accompanied by a juvenile Shag (a rare bird to be seen inland), but the Shag flew off as I got closer. The diver performed well, coming quite close to me at times, but photographing it was not easy because I was having to shoot into the sun and the dark bird was often just a silhouette in the much lighter water. Below are a couple of images of the bird, which have had quite a lot of work done to them!
Juvenile Great Northern Diver, Grafham Water, 30 October
Juvenile Great Northern Diver, Grafham Water, 30 October
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