Fill those Wading Boots, Part 4, 8th August

...continuing on from Fill those Wading Boots, Part 3 ...

My job for the day was cancelled late on Tuesday evening leaving me high and dry for the Wednesday. I always keep an eye on news of any rarer birds that are in the country and there was one in particular that had been present in East Yorkshire since being found at the weekend. Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve is roughly 160 miles and the best part of 3 hours drive from Bicester so I waited until fresh news of the birds presence came in which it duly did at 07:45 and less than an hour later we were on the road heading north. The bird we were wanting to see was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, a species of wader from North America, and one that we'd yet to put on the life list so it would be a long awaited tick. Buff-breasted Sandpipers had eluded us for years and we'd had a few failed twitches for them in Cornwall and one very memorable near miss in Shetland when we'd gone to catch a ferry to Fetlar from Unst, to see the Red-necked Phalaropes, and couldn't get on it because of locals taking all the places on board. At the time we had no idea why there was so much interest in Fetlar since bird news disseminated slowly back in those days  but later found out that the rush had been created by a Buff-breasted Sandpiper appearing on the island. The next day when we managed to get on the ferry the bird had disappeared! So we were due a bit of luck with this species.

Being close to the East coast, Blacktoft Sands is a magnet to all manner of wading birds so we were also hoping to add other nice birds to the weeks tally. The reserve is also good for Bittern, Bearded Tit, Tree Sparrows and Marsh harriers amongst others. We had visited a couple of times in the past and had always seen plenty of birds and had also been pleasantly surprised at how few people seemed to visit the place. We speculated as we always do at "how many birders would be there" and based on our past experience didn't think there'd be too many. The drive went well and we looked into the reception hut for the latest update, the warden telling us that the Sandpiper was still present and was being seen from the Townend Hide but that it was "pretty busy in there"! Busy? We could barely get through the door and into the hide, it was jam-packed! At least 30 fellow birders were already inside, all seats were taken and our initial viewing through the slots in the hide was uncomfortable and awkward to say the least. By kneeling down I managed to scan the scrape between two heads and very gratefully clocked the Buff-breasted Sandpiper about 50 yards away. I quickly rattled a few record shots off, one of the heads tutting loudly as the camera went into overdrive. Admittedly the lens was right by her lughole. Bloody toggers! Once I'd shared the bird with Mrs Caley and we had both relaxed a bit, it was a case of waiting for a seat to become vacant. Mrs Caley took a space, much to the disapproval of her near neighbours I might add, so at least she was settled. I set the scope up for her so she could get good views of the bird.

That initial view of a long awaited lifer!

Buff-breasted Sandpiper with the similar but larger Ruff

My opportunity of a seat took a while longer but eventually I gained one and now I could watch the bird at leisure. The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a very smart little bird, superficially like a diminutive female Ruff but a lovely custardy colour underneath with a lovely beige and brown scaled back. The pale ring around the eye is very prominent. It moved quickly across the mud gleaning flies and other insects off the surface. It kept very much to itself only occasionally keeping company with other birds. The only problem was it was so far away!

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

After half an hour or so all the birds were flushed off the scrape by a pair of juvenile Marsh Harriers that drifted over and we lost sight of the Buff-breast. I felt it had flown off over the reeds but soon someone called it again slightly further out and on the opposite side of the scrape. At such range photos were now pointless so, keeping half an eye on the movements of the star bird, I looked to see what else was about. Other waders present were Lapwing, Redshank, Ruff, Common Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and a Ringed Plover (number 13 for the week). Right at the far end of the scrape was a Wood Sandpiper, the third I'd seen in the past fortnight, but this one was well out of reach with any lens and not just mine. 

Common Snipe 

juvenile Marsh Harrier

Suddenly the birds flushed again and this time did fly off westwards leaving the scrape at this hide almost devoid of birds. As the flocks went I fired off some shots and was pleased to capture the Buff-breast in flight. 

Buff-breasted Sandpiper flight shots

I knew, by my own research, that the Buff-breasted Sandpiper also favoured the scrape in front of the Marshland Hide and some excellent photos had been obtained from there, so Mrs Caley and I hotfooted it the 500 metres to that hide. We had beaten most other birders there, or they didn't have the information that I had so we found a seat easily this time. Unfortunately we'd beaten the bird there too since there was no sign of the Buff-breast. Our luck was in though as within minutes the bird had rejoined us. Not so lucky though when it chose to settle on a muddy edge right at the back of the scrape and was further away than it was before! So much for those closer views from this hide. It was largely pretty pointless in trying to get photos at such range but, stupidly, I tried anyway.

At least some of the other birds were closer, particularly a small group, or wisp, of Common Snipe that were far more photogenic. But they didn't linger for long since the rest of the birders had now caught us up and were piling noisily into the hide. Whatever happened to being quiet in bird hides? A pet hate of mine is people who give a loud running commentary on the comings and goings of certain birds. I mean we can all see them can't we? One very loud and annoying lady was testing my patience greatly and I was mightily relieved when she finally left. You will have realised that birdwatching from a hide is not my cup of tea really unless it's fairly empty and therefore quiet.

Common Snipe

The scrape contained several small rocky islands and at various times these were adorned by a Greenshank, Redshank and a Garganey in eclipse plumage. A small flock of Yellow Wagtails arrived, I think I've seen more of these delightful little birds this year than ever before, good to know that one of our farmland species appear to be doing well.

L-R, Lapwing, Redshank & Greenshank

Garganey

juvenile Moorhen

Yellow Wagtails

The Buff-breast was still way out and I became tired of the shouts of "Bearded Tits behind it in the reeds" or "It's behind the island". Whenever I looked I could only see Reed Buntings and Reed warblers so I very much doubted the validity of such calls and there were at least 7 islands that I could see! One of the said islands had a Grey Heron sat on it that I initially took to be a sick or injured bird but it had sprung into life and was now stalking through the shallows. It was a very scruffy looking juvenile bird and had a "punk" haircut. Every so often it would leap into the air and fly a short distance. It even had the audacity to make a grab for one of the Yellow Wagtails, capture was easily avoided.

juvenile Grey heron

A sizeable flock of Sand Martins had flown in and were hawking low over the pool and taking drinks of water. I caught one bird just as it took a gulp from the surface, a bit too far out for any great detail but nice to witness.

Sand Martin

We realised that the Buff-breasted Sandpiper had disappeared and time was pressing on so we decided to head back as well. On a whim though I thought we should revisit the Townend Hide again and sure enough the bird was back on the scrape there. Not any closer so I wasn't going to get the crippling images that I wanted but it was settled on one of the grassy islands giving me the chance to get some different shots. 

I'm looking forward to seeing another of these smart little wading birds and hopefully it'll be closer than this one was. We were up to 14 species of wader for the week, on a parity now with what we saw at Frampton Marsh in a little over a couple of hours a fortnight ago!