Christine's walking & birds blog

There was no sign of yesterday's waders near the pools on the salt marsh (which had much reduced levels of water in them); but looking farther along towards the dunes I spotted three godwits in a field. Driving round to the car park I set off to stalk the birds. It was the first time I'd been on this part of the beach and this close to the strange, eroded sand towers riddled with rabbit warrens.


I surprised a buzzard (a probable juvenile), no doubt on the lookout for an unwary rabbit; while a raven could have been on the same quest, waiting above one of the many holes to ambush one.


At last I was close to the field I wanted; and creeping along a wet gully until I could crouch behind a tumbled dry-stone wall, I had good views of the three black-tailed godwits.


Yesterday's ruff, however, was nowhere to be seen. I retreated carefully and left the godwits still feeding peacefully. There were still loads of dunlin and a few ringed plover on the machair, but no sanderling.  More wheatears were around than usual so they were probably also migrants.

On the beach there were twenty or so oystercatchers; and as I looked back towards the machair four long-winged waders flew over, coming in off the sea and heading with steady and rather slow flight to the back of the beach. I thought at first they were ruff, but I think maybe they're knot.


However: when I drove away later I saw at least three waders in the long grass sloping down to the river; and these were almost certainly ruff. Confusing. I just don't know.


But I do know that being there when migrating waders fly in off the sea is just so exciting. Whether they landed immediately at the water's edge or flew higher up the beach I felt quite emotional watching them. (On the 11 August - there were loads of waders around the pools on the saltmarsh; mostly dunlin, but also three black-tailed godwits, and what looked like a ruff on the extreme left.