A Temmincks Stint at Amwell

11th August 2020

Temmincks Stints are rare migratory birds in Hertfordshire and there have only been 18 records up to 2002 (Birds of Hertfordshire 2015). This book includes all records up to 2012, with an Appendix of selected records from 2013. The only other records that I am aware of since then was of two birds at Tyttenhanger in 2014 and a single bird in 2017. Therefore the Amwell bird brings the total number of records to 21. Here is a photo of the 2014 Tyttenhanger birds.

Sadly this new arrival, instead of being right in front of the viewpoint was on the main island, 110 yards away. Fortunately it was on the near edge which at least gave some chance of a few record shots. What was more important for the London birders was that it was just 20 yards inside the London Recording Boundary. If it had been on the back edge of the island it would have been outside the London Recording Area.

Photographing the bird was extremely difficult as a non-descript brown bird against a non-descript brown background made the bird hard to find through the viewfinder. However, here are the results.

Not as good as I would have liked, but mustn't grumble.