Sunday 8th May

On Friday evening as I was lounging in my sick bed with some non-specific malaise I got a text from Steve Goddard saying that he had what he thought was either a Green or a Wood Sandpiper by Burgess Field Gate. At first I didn't really feel up to going out to check but in the end curiosity got the better of me. The first bird that I actually saw when I started scanning was a lovely GREY PLOVER working its way along the shore but once Steve had directed me to the right spot I soon found what was indeed a WOOD SANDPIPER - the first one we've had on the Meadow for a few years now. Also present was a GREENSHANK though it was hobbling quite badly in stark contrast to the agile and quick-moving bird from earlier in the week - sadly it probably won't be able to survive unless it finds a really good feeding spot and stays there rather than trying to breed. Also present were 3 RINGED PLOVER, 1 LITTLE RINGED PLOVER, 5 OYSTERCATCHER, 5 COMMON SANDPIPER and 2 SHELDUCK.

A very brief bit of video of the Wood Sandpiper. In my illness-befuddled state I kept cocking things up like not panning with the bird or shooting a Common Sandpiper instead!

The Grey Plover and Wood Sandpiper were both present first thing on Saturday morning though soon departed, probably due to the weekend disturbance on the Meadow - it gets very busy this time of year when the weather is good. I did check it out on Saturday evening and there were just 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 YELLOW WAGTAIL and a smattering of the usual other stuff.

On Sunday evening after a scorchingly hot day Mary MacDougall reported that there was a bit of a feeding frenzy going on with the trapped fish fry and that 3 LITTLE EGRETS, the two COMMON TERNS and loads of Black-headed Gulls were all joining in the bonanza. A good top-up of rain wouldn't go amiss about now.

A Wood Sandpiper grab from the video