Venus Pool - juvenile Ruff

The waders keep a coming and I learnt over the years that singles are better than nowt! Today there was a juvenile Ruff on the pool or rather in the vegetation (which is where it was most of the time!)

Here it is emerging...

And holding its own, managing not to get stomped on by the locals!

It did creep a bit closer but never enough!

How about a Pec Sand or Curlew Sandpiper?

Venus Pool - Dunlin a little closer

 The Dunlin was still in town today, a little closer...

Not much you can say about that!

Venus Pool - Mandarin Ducks

Two Mandarin Ducks dropped into VP today and initially spent the time skulking on the shingle island, viewed from the Memorial hide! I'd been here before - wondering if they were adults in eclipse but favoured simply two juveniles! 

The bill colour is a good indicator of sex, so clearly we had a male (red bill) and female (grey black bill)

Without warning, they flew to the north end of the pool and I legged it to the North hide where they were showing really well! Engaged in a bit of courtship? Male clearly larger then the female

I wanted to age them as they looked like juveniles and Tom Lowe kindly supplied some pointers for distinguishing from eclipse adults? (ex Sebastien Reeber's - Wildfowl)

Some pointers: overall dullish plumage, interrupted white eye-ring, no white line across bill base and poorly demarcated white throat... John Martin thought an adult male would be showing signs of their full splendour...

The action hotted up with a wash and wingflap...

Followed by some full on washing!

Only a few minutes had elapsed before the paddled off...

Venus Pool - Dunlin

I'd been busy all day on the domestic front amid reports from Venus Pool of an unidentified 'small wader'. It was likely to be a Dunlin but with my curiosity nagging me to get over there I popped over there late pm...

It took a while to find and was only viewable from the main hide and was snoozing...

Eventually it started to feed, always with its back to me but at least this showed was a 1st winter Dunlin, pale grey feathers announcing a moult into winter plumage...

A traditional view!

Small wader at VP, always likely to be a Dunlin at any time of the year but they all need checking out!

Venus Pool - Greenshank

With rain starting to fall, a Greenshank dropped in this afternoon only to be harassed by Lapwings from the word go! Luckily it chose the shallows in front of the main hide for a while, chasing fry / hoovering insects off the surface...

Followed by a quickstep of the mud in the now pouring rain!

Then it disappeared in the direction of the North hide and wasn't seen again?

Venus Pool - Common Snipe

Whilst Greenshank may be one day wonders at VP, Common Snipe are now trickling in and one was showing reasonably close today...

Tine for a quick preen...