Saturday 5 November 2011

No time for a break in this hobby! - 5th November 2011

American Golden Plover - Plover Scar, Cockersands (Stuart Piner)

Just a few hours after getting off the plane from New York, I was out in my dad's car heading north towards Cockersands. I heard, whilst in NYC, about a juvenile American Golden Plover present from Plover Scar. I was eager to see it as this is a bird that I should really have seen by now... I thought I had missed the window for 2011 so was really excited to go and see it.
Upon arrival, a group of 5 birders or so were scoping towards the light house. I picked up a group of 9 Knot and 1 very slightly larger wader with a spangled back facing away. This was the bird! Over the next 25 minutes, the bird fed, bathed and flapped its wings. At the distance the bird was, the diagnostic features I could pick up were the large eye, pale silvery wash to the spangled plumage, reasonably broad supercillium, small size and I could just make out the primary tips projecting beyond the tail. All in all, a lovely wader and a nice bird to have finally seen!

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