Chasing The Piper.

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Copy Permitted.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper was reported again yesterday morning at 9.55am and although five minutes later another message was that the bird had flown off at 10.00am, I decided to chance my luck. The plan was to walk the coastal path from Fluke Hall possibly to Knott End if needs be. 

Meeting two birders soon after I set off from Fluke Hall caused me to have a little less enthusiasm as they were returning from the morning 'empty handed'. When I arrived at the halfway point of Cockers Dyke there was at least eight other birders ahead of me and I set myself up to scan the area for almost an hour by which time no mention of the bird from the pager service or from the other birders in the area since the bird had flown off four hours earlier. I decided to react to the silence about the bird by calling off my plan to go as far as Knott End and I called it my cut off point and returned to Fluke Hall.

The sting in the tail....The Semipalmated Sandpiper was reported at Cockers Dyke again, 'briefly' at 2.25pm, though no mention again for the rest of the day.

Twite. Howard Stockdale.

On the way back from Cockers Dyke I found at least 95 Twite on the saltmarsh east of the dyke and saw a Little Egret.

Black-tailed Godwit Martin Jump  

I decided to walk east from Fluke Hall to check out an excellent looking stubble field I had noted on the way here a couple of hours ago, in the field I found 3 Curlew Sandpiper and 85 Black-tailed Godwit, 22 Whooper Swan, and at least 7 Snipe, I reckon the stubble field was 'packed' with Snipe but very difficult to pick out and by the time I reached the seven count a predator - presumably a raptor which I did'nt pick up - had put the entire field to flight.

Thanks for the Sandpiper, the Twite on the sea wall at Cockersands, and the in flight Godwits, the images are much appreciated.