A Lesser Yellowlegs at Etton

15th October 2025

A Lesser Yellowlegs had been reported at the quarries at Etton for some time now, so time for a visit. Unfortunately as we were approaching the area on the A1 there had been no reports of the bird so it was decided to divert to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water.

Fairly quiet as you would expect as this time of year, particulaely with mild weather, but it was nice to see so many winter duck already arrived but many still to emerge from their eclipse plumage. Here is a trio of Wigeon.

There were also a couple of Curlews feeding on the mud, with this one being particularly close in front of the hide.

Just 20 years ago Great White Egrets were quite rare and would attract lots of birders. Now they have colonised the UK in numbers and can be seen virtually everywhere.

Nevertheless, still a fantastic bird to see.

And this is a female Gadwall having a bath.

And when they have a bath, they really have a bath.

They have to ensure that every feather is soaked before the preening can commence.

And as tradition has it, always followed by a stand-up in the water for a wing-flap to dry off the wings.

But the bonus today was an air display by a juvenile Marsh Harrier.

After a few laps of the marsh it settled for a rest.................

.......................and looked at me to see what all the fuss was about.

At that point it was reported that the Lesser Yellowlegs was still on Rectory Pit at Etton so a half hour drive to try our luck. The directions to the pit were very good, but once there you were confronted by an enormous pit with a multitude of islands, so just a matter of settling down and scanning and more scanning. I eventually found two waders, a Ringed Plover..............and a Lesser Yellowlegs.

The yellowlegs was a bit distant, estimated as about 150 yards, but the good news was that it was overcast otherwise the bird would have been into the sun. These are the shots I managed to get.

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together....................eventually!!!!

On the Rising Tide at Fingringhoe Wick

12th October 2025

The timing of my arrival at Robbie's Hide was perfect, as the tide had already filled the basin of the river and was lapping at the mudflats which it would cover in little over an hour. Not a vast amount of waders along the water's edge, but although they all quite distant just now will gradually get pushed in closer to the shore as the tide come in.

As you would expect there were some of the usual suspects like these Little Egrets that were fishing in the shallows.

Always seems a lot of effort for the tiny fish they catch.

Redshanks are the commonest wader here for most of the time, only pushed into second place by the Black-tailed Godwits that fly in in their hundreds for the high tide roost.

Very smart birds.

There are ormally a few Oystercatchers around but today just a singleton that had all the mud to itself.

Grey Plovers could be heard with their eerie call further up the estuary, but only one juvenile was feeding in front of the hide.

There were also a couple of small Grey Plover flocks flying past into the roost, showing their distinctive black armpits.

This flock included a bird still showing the remnants of its summer plumage.

Having said the Black-tailed Godwits fly in to their high tide roost in the inter-tidal area, this individual had obviously not read the rule book and landed outside the hide looking confused before flying off.

There are normally good numbers of Avocet on the river here, which during the winter months build up to 200+ birds. They too roost in the inter-tidal area but feed on this stretch of the river as the tide comes in.

The rest fly straight to the roost.

The last species today was the Curlew which are never present in large numbers, but always a few individuals dotted about feeding on lugworms in the mud.

And you have to get that long decurved bill into some very strange places.

And when you catch a long muddy worm what do you do?........................

.........................well wash it in a puddle of course!!

And this individual decided to have a bath before heading back to roost. Compared to other waders Curlews are fairly reservd in the bathing technique with hardly a splash of water, but when you have finished there is a run and wing-flap to dry your wings..................

....................and then fly off to roost.

Well, off now to the Kingfisher Hide to see if I can find some Greenshanks. There were four birds present and just as well I went as there were none at all on the scrape when I got back to the car park.

Well another fantastic day at Fingringhoe, and good to have a chat with Ian and Jane in Robbie's Hide.