Lade - cool, sunny, W 4 - Trudging across the shingle into a brisk westerly first thing this morning I wasn`t expecting a great deal until two Ring Ouzels `exploded` from cover in Mockmill Sewer, `chacking` loudly as they disappeared behind the wall `mirror`. Little else was noted passerine wise apart from a trickle of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches overhead, a few Chiffchaffs in the bushes, a single Wheatear on the desert and a Swallow hurrying south, plus several Sparrowhawks and a Marsh Harrier by the willow swamp. At Littlestone around midday four Common Buzzards drifted over while another Sparrowhawk hacked through a back garden. A check of the bay on a falling tide revealed the usual waders returning from roost and a trickle of Sandwich Terns. In the late afternoon sunshine it was good to a see a Comma and a couple of Small Tortoiseshells on the garden buddleia.
News broke this afternoon concerning a long-awaited quality wader on the bird reserve in the shape of a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper (CT, MC) on the islands in front of Dennis`s hide. It was a bit on the nervy side and regularly took flight alongside the usual Golden Plovers and Lapwings, plus three Ruff and two Dunlins, but as always one of the smartest American shorebirds when it did settle down.
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