Pectoral Sandpiper

Scotney - 1000hrs - mild, shower, sw 5 - A windy morning with light rain quickly moving through, not ideal for Scotney, but seeing as I`ve not been here for ages we soldiered on. The front lakes were full of feral geese, swans, Cormorants and gulls and not much else apart from a couple of Common Sandpipers and a steady passage of Swifts. Since my last visit I noticed a series of lifebuoys around the lake sides suggesting a move to some kind of water sports. Outback Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and Skylark noted, but the lakes were largely deserted.
Dungeness - A circuit of Dengemarsh produced a Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, several Common Sandpipers and hundreds of Sand Martins and Swifts over the water. By the time I`d worked my way round to Burrowes a Pectoral Sandpiper had been found on a distant island. A dark, adult bird in summer plumage, it showed reasonably well from Dennis`s hide moving busily around the island alongside Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers and a Little Stint. A welcome return to form for this Nearctic wader following a blank year in 2016.

                                Adult Pectoral Sandpiper, Burrowes