On a very busy bank holiday Monday, here’s a summary of the birds seen around Old Moor today…
From Wombwell Ings, Gary Stones reported two spotted redshank, six black-tailed godwit, one greenshank, one snipe, twenty lapwing and four yellow wagtail. Thanks Gary.
Gary also sent news from Adwick Washland. There today were: short-eared owl, redstart (one female), one whinchat, sixteen yellow wagtail, one green woodpecker, one black-tailed godwit, one ringed plover, a common sandpiper and nine snipe. There were also around fifty lapwing, three little egret, fourteen teal, three lesser black-backed gull, one sparrowhawk, a buzzard and two kestrel.
From Old Moor, the perils of dabbling in shallow water!
The waters of Old Moor’s main marsh (or the pools in front of the Wath Ings Hide) are indeed shallow - and by design of course. Here is one of the best places to look for waders and today was no exception. Eleven black-tailed godwit showed off their russet tones in the sunshine along with ruff, sandpiper and snipe.
Godwit looking fine against the silver and greens of the marsh
On the Wader Scrape, the star of the show was the plucky little silver teal. Some bird folk may point immediately at this being an escapee from an exotic collection rather than admire that dazzling plumage, but many visitors (including me) were charmed by its antics today.
You’d have to go a long way to see another – the silver teal
Yesterday’s swallows had pretty much moved on and in their place house and sand martins skimmed the air above the Mere. Yet once again, it was the understated beauty of the greenshank that caught many watchers’ attention.
These elegant waders with their ‘tyew-tyew-tyew’ calls are a very welcome addition to the reserve at this time of year. From their breeding grounds in the far north, the greenshanks are on their way south to spend a balmy winter in Africa or further east, towards India.
But they won’t be moving on just yet and so give us a short while to admire this distinctive and attractive bird.
A greenshank on the Mere today
Until next time.