Late on Friday afternoon Pat Hart and Bill Stallard found a moutling juvenile Marsh Sandpiper while doing the trail lock up in the extremely uncomfortable heat and humidity.
This dainty little Tringa was feeding actively on Aveley Pool with two Greenshank and was only the second record for the reserve with the first being an amazing 55 years ago in August 1963. It was also the first London recording area record since 1984 and was therefore bound to attract some attention in local birding circles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=RMX-170ngEo&app=desktop
I opened at a little before seven on Saturday morning with the knowledge that the bird was thankfully still present but it annoyingly flew off just before the first visitors arrived and headed towards the Thames.
David Morrison
A tense two hours followed during which time this strange wet stuff fell momentarily from the sky. We consulted Google and found out that it was called ‘rain’. No one in living memory could remember what it was and some people even came back into the centre appearing ‘wet’.
No sooner had got our head around these alien concepts than it had passed us by and as if by magic the sandpiper was back on the pools where it stayed for the rest of the day generating some much needed footfall and ornithological good will.
In flight with a Redshank - Paul Hawkins
With a Greenshank to it's right - Neville Smith
and again with two Greenshanks - see how dinky it is? - Alan Shearman
It was good to get the marsh back on the map for a rare bird and with Aveley pool looking so good, let’s hope that this will be the first of several good autumnal passage birds.
Some of those gathered on the Northern Trail - Tom Bell
I was out on the marsh all night for Big Wild Sleepout and was treated to the sound of the Marsh Sandpiper flying around calling in the dark with two Greenshank. It was nice to put that learned call from Lesvos into good use!
It was still present on the foreshore with some Black-tailed Godwits this morning but as the weather closed it obviously made and escape and by late afternoon had been re-located at RSPB Cliffe in north Kent a few miles down river.
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer