It's been three months since I was last out with Dad, so this month was my turn for a trip with him again. And of course, I wanted to go birding. As always. The only problem was that nothing was around... at least until yesterday, when a Spotted Sandpiper turned up in East Sussex, not (quite) a million miles away, so, after making plans to visit, we were very excited. A Spotted Sandpiper- quite the rarity. And that was when the report came through that there were, and I couldn't believe my eyes, not one, but two(!!!) Spotted Sandpipers there...wow! Needless to say, we were very, very excited.
And so this morning I woke up at 6, Dad and I left home at 6:30 with a long drive ahead of us. We arrived at Arundel Beefeater at 7:15 and ate our breakfast. We left at 8:15, ready for the second leg of our journey, finally arriving around 9:00.
We started walking towards the bridge, then over it, before taking the path down the east bank of the river. There were plenty of warblers around, with Sedge, Reed, and Cetti's all calling, with a supporting cast of brilliant numbers of Reed Bunting and Skylark as well.
We continued walking down the path at breakneck speed, heading towards the group of birders in the distance. We'd decided not to check BirdGuides at all this morning, so it would be a complete surprise when we arrived as to whether the birds were present or not.
I wasn't completely sure about its identification on a quick inspection, but I scanned the bank where it'd landed anyway, but with nothing visible, we walked on towards the other birders.
Finally, we drew close to the other birders, and I walked on ahead of Dad, making it to them before him. And as I did, one pointed at something flying along the river. It landed. And it was a Spotted Sandpiper. Wow. But, this was not a lifer for me... it turns out the wader that had flown up the river earlier on, had indeed been the other Spotted Sandpiper. Incredible! The (second )Spotted Sandpiper visible from here was on the opposite bank of the river, but views through the scope were brilliant...
I say it a lot, but here it is very justified. What a bird! Wowee! It was very flighty, but was showing very well...
It moved right up the bank, where it stayed for quite a while, constantly on the move.
What a stunning bird. It flew up and landed again, closer this time. This was so enjoyable. A very rare American vagrant, in stunning breeding plumage, with another one of its kind just one or two hundred meters upriver. Crazy stuff!
Again, it flew up- but this time to our side of this bank. It skulked around the rocks for a few minutes before flying off again. But it was very close whilst it was on our side of the bank... these views were absolutely brilliant!
With the bird having flown off towards the other one, we stood in awe of the happenings so far of the morning. Number 219 on my British list, and in style! This was really, really, incredible. Spotted Sandpipers are very rare American vagrants to Britain, with around 5 seen a year. So seeing one is incredible. Seeing one in Breeding plumage is incredible. Seeing TWO in breeding plumage is really the stuff of fairytales. My favourite trip and birds of the year so far. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better, it did. Down the river, not one, but both of the sandpipers came, landing on our bank, hardly a meter apart, giving the best views of the day so far. I'm just going to let the photos speak for themselves...
After a breathless few minutes watching both of these stunning birds, not knowing which one to look at, one, and then the other flew off down the river, their tiny, incredible forms disappearing into the distance. What incredible birds. What a trip.What a day.
I'm writing this listening to the Sports Bar on Talksport at 22:30, feeling depressed about the state of Chelsea, disappointed in the Man City result, and feeling swamped with school, with exams coming up in a few weeks. But yet, I feel happy. Tremendously happy. It's incredible what birds can do to us. What a successful trip it was earlier. I'm still absolutely buzzing with the day. It's worth mentioning that it was also absolutely beautiful there as well, not just the birds. The scenery was stunning... I'll include some photos below. This becomes the 6th lifer of the year, and a third vagrant, following up the Killdeer and American Golden Plover. Even though the Killdeer is much rarer, this has been my favourite trip and bird this year. Or birdS I should say. Two incredibly rare American waders at the same sight. Incredible. Such beautiful birds as well. Best trip so far this year, and in the top birds, trips, and bird encounters I've ever had.
No comments:
Post a Comment