Friday 24 September 2010

Upton Warren - Pectoral Sandpiper

The only worthwhile bird on my route home and it was possibly the smallest detour ever, turned out to be a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper at Upton Warren.

Always a desirable bird at County level, there were plenty of locals enjoying the scene at the flashes and fortunately it was showing well!






Working the muddy islands not too distant from the hide, it eventually ended up as close as is possible at UW, covered from virtually every possible angle....












Nicely head on.....









Feeding with a Common Snipe…..






The fates took an unkind turn as I left the reserve at 5.30ish. I bumped into Dave Barnes as I was leaving and then 15 minutes later go a phone call --- BONXIE just dropped in on the flashes!! Crikey, I was only a few miles down the road, did a handbrake turn and rallied back to no avail, it had flown South soon after.

Never mind, it happens - a good day all round though and with a few good birds seen over the past few days, I’m ready for the frustration of Shropshire again!!