Second SPOTTED REDHANK of year

Gypsy Lane East continues to produce the goods with this winter-plumaged SPOTTED REDSHANK present on 28th - my first in the county this year. A female PINTAIL is also present amongst the Gadwall and a late GARGANEY while in the dense vegetation at the north end of the pit, up to 3 SCANDINAVIAN ROCK PIPITS are with 5 Meadow Pipits there.

Elsewhere in Bedfordshire, the long-staying male DARTFORD WARBLER remains on Apsley Heath, just NW of Woburn

BUFFLEHEAD in Bedfordshire!!

David Kramer discovered this drake BUFFLEHEAD this morning, consorting with 40 or so Tufted Ducks at the east end of Priory Country Park throughout the rest of the day. As you can see from Plate 3, the bird was bearing a metal ring on its right leg, suggesting perhaps a captive origin. Enquiries locally revealed that it had certainly not derived from any of our local collections.

CASPIAN GULL in Stewartby roost

Bank Holiday Monday 31 August

I arrived at Stewartby Lake c7.05pm to join Keith Owen who promptly drew my attention to a white headed young gull in an otherwise rather pathetic roost. Long medium thick slightly droopy black bill, medium grey mantle emerging, streaking extending up the hindneck, clean white head, blotchy brown wings etc etc – all pointing very obviously on pattern and jizz to Caspian Gull. We aged it as juvenile moulting in to first winter plumage, e.g. the new primaries were only stubby length and the area of grey to the mantle was clearly fresh. Only the second in Beds this year, c.f. SCB’s GLE fully juvenile bird earlier this month.

Also present were 3 Black Terns – KRO said there had been four earlier. A Kingfisher flew past us calling, some Sand Martins were low over the lake and around the shores were 4 Little Egrets and 3 Grey Herons. More interestingly, in the half hour I was present, Common Terns (25) out-numbered Lesser Black-backs (21). Some 100 or so B H Gulls were in the roost but no Common Gulls. The only other gulls present were a juvenile Herring Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

MJP

WOOD SAND at last

Although Gypsy Lane East had held a WOOD SANDPIPER since the weekend, it had eluded me on every visit. I had planned on returning today (as a LITTLE STINT had turned up and JG had seen the Wood Sand on Peacocks Lake) but luckily Chris Dreary had discovered 2 WOOD SANDPIPERS at TODDINGTON SERVICES SEWAGE TREATMENT LAGOONS, a site I had never previously visited. After parking up at Old Park Farm, I walked the Icknield Way Trail south to the services, where I photographed both birds, along with 3 Green Sandpipers and 68 Lapwing....

WOOD SANDPIPER drops in early evening...

First off thanks to Stu Warren and Jim G for calls re the Wood Sandpiper at Gypsy Lane East this evening – I had some great views albeit rather damp ones. I had 8 species of wader there this evening – others were 2 brief staying Blackwits that flew off south just a few minutes after they’d dropped in from the north, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, several Lapwings, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Ringed Plovers and 2 Dunlin. SW told me he’d had 4 Golden Plover there this morning, the Ruff again and Greenshank – add to that the Snipe I’d seen there two days ago and that’s 12 species of wader at one site in Beds – memories of Rookery South in its heyday.

I left JG still watching the Wood Sand when I left at 7.00pm for a reconstituted evening meal!

MJP

I was at the site earlier and had the juvenile RUFF, 3 GREENSHANK, 4 Green Sandpipers, Garganey and other species.....

GYPSY LANE EAST continues to produce the goods.....

Over the past week, Gypsy Lane East has attracted a run of waders including 3 COMMON GREENSHANKS, a RUFF, several Dunlin, 4 Green Sandpipers, several Common Sandpipers and an adult ICELANDIC BLACK-TAILED GODWIT; also a single GARGANEY.....