I was out with my wife and
grandchildren today and I had persuaded them to go to Bradgate Park for a
picnic, which would then also give me the chance to look for the Pectoral
Sandpiper.
After parking in Hallgates car
park we walked along the path towards the Deer Barn Tea Room and Visitor’s
Centre. I heard a Raven but didn’t see it and when I reached the first viewing
hole in the wall surrounding the reservoir and went to look for the Pectoral
Sandpiper but there was no sign and we continued along the path to view some
deer that were resting in an area adjacent to the path and we then walked back
to the team room for a coffee.
As we started to walk back to
the car I saw a Black-tailed Godwit feeding at the edge of the water and I
walked down to the viewing hole to take another look. The godwit couldn’t be seen from the hole but
I then noticed three female-type Mandarin that were quite possibly juveniles
but they walked left and disappeared. I scanned
again and noticed a wader feeding on the mud on the far side of the inlet
stream. I got the bird in the scope and could
see it was the Pectoral Sandpiper but the light made it very difficult to get
too much detail. It looked very dark on
the upperparts and it was difficult picking up any detail and therefore
impossible to age, although it had been reported as both a juvenile and an
adult. Pleased with finding the bird I
walked back to the car and then went and found a nice spot for the picnic.
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