It’s been a real week for waders in front of the Benarth Hide, as autumn migrants stop to rest and feed up on the muddy edges of our lagoons. The highlights have been a little stint (seen on 1 and 3 September) and up to 7 curlew sandpipers throughout the week. Helpfully, both species have been feeding in amongst a small flock of dunlin, which makes them much easier to pick out, as the size difference really stands out. Today, we also had a sanderling hiding in amongst the small waders, still with a hint of its rusty summer colours showing through.
Curlew sandpiper by Mike Langman
The supporting cast of waders throughout the week has meant that there is always something to see on the Deep Lagoon, whatever the state of tide. A ruff and a green sandpiper were both showing well daily until 31 August, and there have been up to 3 greenshank, 16 dunlin, 2 knot, 14 black-tailed godwits, and 10 ringed plover on most days. A busy little place! Just goes to show how important a few patches of mud can be.
There seems to be a distinct autumnal feel in the air, and it looks like we may have seen the last of the swifts on 30 September. Meanwhile, numbers of true winter visitors are building up – wigeon and pochard are back on the lagoons, and a kingfisher is being seen regularly. The evening swallow roost in the reedbed built up to over a 1000 birds last week – are they all on their way to Africa already?