Evening folks! Here is the summary of today’s sightings from Old Moor…
Something seemed to change out there today. Not sure what caused it, but the arrival of a wood sandpiper at Old Moor was a reminder that the birds are moving once again. I know, I know – for us it’s still the summer but – in the bird world at least – autumn has begun!
Sadly, I missed out on a picture of the ‘wood sand’ but luckily for us, fellow volunteer Paul Gould was on hand.
An elegant wood sandpiper from Paul Gould. Thanks Paul.
It was also a day to appreciate the sepia subtleties of sand martins with around seventy of them skimming over the Mere.
These little aeronauts feed on insects - mainly over water - and today provided just the right conditions for them to be feeding only a few centimetres above the surface.
Enjoy these summer visitors while you can!
Snipe were very evident today. Visitors counted twenty (or more) of them mostly around Wath Ings’ ‘main marsh’ – the water to the right of the hide.
In a similar vein, twenty-five little egret were seen at Old Moor this morning with a further twenty-five just up the road at Wombwell Ings. It’s great to see such good numbers of egret in the Dearne Valley.
A little egret having a shake on Wath Ings this afternoon
There were also quite a few grebe out there today with four great crested grebe feeding right in front of the Reedbed Hide (and more on the Mere) as well as little grebe viewable from every hide.
So, to finish up, here’s a little grebe in fine colour. Well, the bird’s scientific name does mean ‘red collar’ after all!
Until next time.