Heather's Nature Notes: A TWITCH AND A TURNSTONE

My usual few days in Cambridgeshire during the summer holidays fell towards the end of August this year and therefore it seemed a good opportunity to see what waders had come in at Frampton Marsh RSPB reserve. A good list of birds to see had appeared on their sightings list, but the previous evening to our visit, news had come in of a rarity.. a stilt sandpiper Admittedly not a bird I have even heard of but always good to see something new.

As you'd expect, the car park was exceptionally busy; we arrived early but before we left the overflow carpark field was in use too. The visitor centre had just opened for the morning and a good number of birds, ducks and geese could be seen from the centre, and directly in front of it, dozens of sand martins were clinging to the reeds, their wings appearing to shimmer, just like a flock of locusts on a field of corn! At the visitor centre people were enquiring about the whereabouts of the sandpiper, and we were pointed in the direction of a group of people out on the reserve which we could see from the visitor centre. We strolled in that direction and caught up with them, but no sandpiper had been seen for a while. Scouring with our binoculars for a while, we then left the group and headed for a couple of hides where Karen was able to add several birds to her list of waders for the year. Heading for the final hide, a birder ahead of us gave a whistle and a wave.. the stilt sandpiper had been re found and we were at the right spot at the right time! The bird could be seen with the naked eye, but any decent views of its striking plumage could really only be made out through binoculars or through a kind person's telescope!

stilt sandpiper..

Looking on the twitter feed that evening, we appeared to have just missed the arrival of a red necked phalarope which amazingly decided to feed right next to the stilt sandpiper, a bonus for anyone there.

The next day was somewhat colder and we made a visit to a reserve at Pitsford Reservoir; here again Karen added more birds and also butterflies to her list. Clouded yellow butterflies are sometimes seen here, but clearly with cool, and cloudy conditions with some wind, I was unlikely to find any today. We followed this with a stop off at Twywell Hills and Dales. I was excited to hear that a second brood grizzled skipper had been spotted here recently, but it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and we were unsuccessful in finding any. We saw a couple of birders who had seen a redstart at the end of the field but disappointingly it had disappeared and we were anxious to get home before the bank holiday weekend traffic really got going.

On my way home I stopped off at Farmoor reservoir. Although blue skies, there was a brisk north westerly wind and I needed my jacket. Plenty of sand martins and house martins flying low over the causeway as I walked along it. Along the causeway I found two ringed plovers, adult and juvenile, and also six dunlin and two grey wagtails. All of which were within 10 feet of me so good viewing opportunities. As I returned to the carpark I mused on the fact that I had not yet managed to see a turnstone at Farmoor although they are seen from time time. I looked down.. and there it was.. a turnstone a few metres away! How strange is that! It was very confiding and allowed me to keep abreast with it as it ran along the edge of the shoreline. Farmoor reservoir allows some really close views of waders and other water birds from time to time, and I have enjoyed excellent views of a variety of species, this being the latest, and a nice end to my short break.