Season of the twitch

OK, I'll admit it, I've had that pun in mind for a while, I was just waiting for the right time to use it. That time is now:

"Showery with a chance of warblers" - winds this evening

Having been away for a few days it was great to check in tonight and see some of the birds that have been arriving in the last few days. There have been a smattering of amazing finds across the country, courtesy of those nice purple arrows from the east and from across the Atlantic too (what the image above doesn't show is the mass of low pressure building west of Spain, apparently the tail end of Hurricane Nadine which has been pinging around the mid-Atlantic recently). These autumn lows straddling the British Isles at the moment mean it's a great time to be a duck or a birder but not, uh, someone who hates shitty weather.

While I'm probably not going to get to see a Magnolia Warbler anytime soon (but best of luck to those sods heading north, what a beauty) I'm glad to say I've managed to get out and see a couple of great birds from across the pond in the last week or so. A trip down to Dungeness last weekend coincided with the arrival of a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper on the RSPB reserve. After a fair few Baillion's-less hours at Rainham, it was nice to get an old fashioned tick and run with some good views. In fact it was so easy, even my tolerant-but-non-birdy friends enjoyed it. First hide, 100m from the car park and there it was - front and centre 20-30m away:

Crap photo, nice bird: digiscoped record shot of Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)
RSPB Dungeness, Kent, 15/9/12

If you squint, you can just about make out the streaking on the breast, curving inwards to leave the whitish, unmarked belly. The yellowish legs are more apparent and it shows the general appearance of the bird. It was an active, stocky bird, moving restlessly along the edge of the mudbank, perhaps in a more determined fashion than I have seen with Ruff. A regular vagrant from the states, it was nice to see my first Pec Sand. My friends thought it was pretty ok, although the nice male Redstart that perched on the fence at the back of Derek Jarman's garden got a more uniform seal of approval.

Anyway, so from one of the more common vagrant stateside waders to one of the rarest, a spur of the moment trip to Hampshire this weekend meant I was pretty close to another nearctic visitor...

Season of Do'witch:

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) RSPB Lodmoor, Dorset, 21/9/12

Yep, check it out - these are some dubious photos of the mega Short-billed Dowitcher that has been down at RSPB Lodmoor in Dorset for the last two weeks. The drive to Weymouth was fairly arduous, especially since I managed to do the last 25 miles on country lanes, but the views were amazing and totally worth it. After finding the site and the area where the bird was frequenting, I was pleased to spot it almost straight away. The place was quiet with just a handful of other birders milling about and as I wandered down the path and glanced out over the nearest pool, I could see something against the reeds on the far side - there it was, happy as you like. It soon ventured out further, wading into the middle of the pool and along the near shore, perhaps only 20m away at times. The light was good too and allowed for a comprehensive impression of the bird; in short it looked like what would happen if you crossed a Snipe with a Black-tailed Godwit. The head was very well marked with a clean pale supercilium and crown, a sturdy bill, widening at the base. The tertial feathers, which were given as being a crucial ID pointer, did appear to be well patterned, unlike those of the very similar (and more common vagrant) Long-billed Dowitcher. It's muted peachy breast and mottled/caramel back contrasted with its pale, mid-length legs. It was one busy bird too, the whole time I watched the bird, it didn't stop moving! It had its head in the water a lot of the time, jerking back and forth as it fed. Mind you, given the distance it's got to go, you can't blame it! I think this was only the 2nd or 3rd record for Short-billed Dowitcher in the British Isles so it's great to have seen this one so well.

Nothing else this weekend quite matched that that (!) but I did see my first flock of whistling autumn Wigeon, twenty or so birds settling on a shallow pool on the Hampshire coast. There were quite a few groups of Grey Plover on the Keyhaven marshes too. Alongside these archetypal 'winter birds', cheery yellow wagtails darted here and there as a steady stream of swallows passed purposefully overhead, heading south. It was wonderful to observe the comings and goings of these birds, like watching the seasons unfold in real time before my eyes.

Twitching birds like the Short-billed Dowitcher is a lot of fun but in the next month I'll be setting my sights somewhat lower and aiming to find something good myself closer to home. A Ring Ouzel would be good, or a Firecrest perhaps - Shetland can wait.