Sunday 8 September 2013

White-rumped Sandpiper at Davidstow

On Saturday, Colin Selway found a moulting adult White-rumped Sandpiper with Dunlins and Ringed Plovers at Davidstow disused runway.  I decided to take a look today and fairly soon found several birders looking at it.  My mate Bob Bosisito and Pete Rosevear were also there and they informed me they had also seen a Baird's Sandpiper there on Saturday as well.  Both are superb finds and obviously turned up during the torrential rain over the weekend.  For some reason, all the waders seem to be feeding in the middle grass areas and not on the runway edges, so are some distance for viewing and indeed finding.  Among the Dunlins is a small, relatively pale Dunlin as well as the White-rumped, plus another small calidrid which I just couldn't pin down properly.  I've seen at least nine Bairds previously but White-rumped Sandpiper is decidedly rare in Cornwall.  From memory this is only my third.






Juv Dunlin also taken today for comparison.  Note the extensive dark mottling on the belly and flanks.


All images taken with Nikon D7100, 600mm F4 from car window. All images cropped to an inch of their life and reduced in size.

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