Saturday 19 May 2012

Swifts and more waders

At Kilvington this morning there were 9 Dunlin,7 Ringed Plover and a fine Turnstone. Several of the RPs were quite dark (as were some of the ones at Mons Pool on the 17th), and are presumably tundrae? Most of the Plovers and the Turnstone then flew north just after 11am.

Looking at the sightings board, there have been a few good waders here over the last few days - 10 Ringed Plover on the 17th (corresponding with my 17 at Mons Pool on the same date), and 2 Common Sands, a Greenshank, 4 Dunlin and a Sanderling yesterday.

Nearby, at Cotham Flash, there were 2 Dunlin on the field Pool.

2 Dunlin on the field pool at Cotham Flash
This arvo we had a walk round Collingham and Besthorpe with my mum who's up for the weekend. The Swifts were absolutely amazing - there must have been several hundred across the area (maybe as many as four or five hundred), many feeding at head height and zooming all around us, sometime passing feet from our faces and coming from every direction. Absolutely fantastic.

Swifts at Collingham Pits
Aside from the Swifts, there was a Wheatear (not a Greenland) on the Carlton Ferry Farm Pit (plus nesting Oycs), and 6 Lapwing chicks and a Little Egret on the Silt Lagoon. Finally, Mons Pool again supported a good flock of waders, this time 19 Dunlin and 7 Ringed Plovers, but unfortunately nothing more unusual.

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