Greater Yellowlegs at East Chevington CP
19th November
Started this morning early at HGF. Goldeneye still present – nothing else of note. Next we headed north to the van. I checked the weir at Halton on my way past and found an adult Med Gull on it. I can’t make my mind up whether this is a new bird or one of the three I have seen recently but in a more advanced state of moult. Nothing again at the feeding station.
Today was sunny and having got a free pass for the day I headed over into the north east to see if I could see the Greater Yellowlegs. Normally I wouldn’t go this far out of my way to see a rarity, however this is one of those birds I have always always wanted to see.
After a good drive I rolled up at Druridge Bay CP knowing the bird had been reported there no more than 20 minutes earlier. Guess what? It had done one. I met a birder there who told me I would be gripped by what he had to say (he was right) and then told me a tale of the bird walking just a few feet past him etc. The dilemma I (and lots of other birders) found myself in was: which way do I try next?
While I was pondering my next move the bird was reported again at East Chevington NR. Great stuff. Only I know it’s nearby but where exactly and how do I get there? Coincidentally I wasn’t the only birder wondering this. None of us knew. I ended up asking a shop assistant at the CP and she gave me general directions so I set off with a load of birders in tow. East Chevington isn’t signposted and you wouldn’t for the life of you think to go down the roads we did. Anyway I arrived, saw lots of cars and assumed they were from birders so I parked up and began walking. Wrong again!
The cars were simply lots of dog walkers – I ended up walking back to the car and driving another mile before parking again and heading down a track. I knew I was on the right path this time because of the number of birders heading in the opposite direction with self-satisfied grins on their faces.
Apparently the bird had tucked itself under a reedbed and the only way of seeing it was to walk right round the pool and over onto the hillside opposite which overlooked the pool. Knowing the bird had been very flighty for days and was liable to shift at any moment, the next 25 minutes were horrendous. All the time I walked the path I could see a line of birders on a distant hillside watching the wader and I dreaded the possible view of them all packing up their scopes and walking away. That 25 minutes seemed a bloody long time.
Anyway, thankfully the bird stayed put and I enjoyed good if distant views of a cracking bird. All that fretting for nothing eh! The yellow legs glowed like they were fluorescent and the bird seemed like a mix between Spotted Redshank and Greenshank but then again not quite either. If you couldn’t see the legs on this bird I guess it could be easily confused with something much commoner. I came away dead chuffed and not even slightly bothered that I had missed a Green-winged Teal on the way past. I headed back to the van where, late afternoon 50 Fieldfares flew over and in the evening, the usual Tawny Owl began calling next to the van.
Started this morning early at HGF. Goldeneye still present – nothing else of note. Next we headed north to the van. I checked the weir at Halton on my way past and found an adult Med Gull on it. I can’t make my mind up whether this is a new bird or one of the three I have seen recently but in a more advanced state of moult. Nothing again at the feeding station.
Today was sunny and having got a free pass for the day I headed over into the north east to see if I could see the Greater Yellowlegs. Normally I wouldn’t go this far out of my way to see a rarity, however this is one of those birds I have always always wanted to see.
After a good drive I rolled up at Druridge Bay CP knowing the bird had been reported there no more than 20 minutes earlier. Guess what? It had done one. I met a birder there who told me I would be gripped by what he had to say (he was right) and then told me a tale of the bird walking just a few feet past him etc. The dilemma I (and lots of other birders) found myself in was: which way do I try next?
While I was pondering my next move the bird was reported again at East Chevington NR. Great stuff. Only I know it’s nearby but where exactly and how do I get there? Coincidentally I wasn’t the only birder wondering this. None of us knew. I ended up asking a shop assistant at the CP and she gave me general directions so I set off with a load of birders in tow. East Chevington isn’t signposted and you wouldn’t for the life of you think to go down the roads we did. Anyway I arrived, saw lots of cars and assumed they were from birders so I parked up and began walking. Wrong again!
The cars were simply lots of dog walkers – I ended up walking back to the car and driving another mile before parking again and heading down a track. I knew I was on the right path this time because of the number of birders heading in the opposite direction with self-satisfied grins on their faces.
Apparently the bird had tucked itself under a reedbed and the only way of seeing it was to walk right round the pool and over onto the hillside opposite which overlooked the pool. Knowing the bird had been very flighty for days and was liable to shift at any moment, the next 25 minutes were horrendous. All the time I walked the path I could see a line of birders on a distant hillside watching the wader and I dreaded the possible view of them all packing up their scopes and walking away. That 25 minutes seemed a bloody long time.
Anyway, thankfully the bird stayed put and I enjoyed good if distant views of a cracking bird. All that fretting for nothing eh! The yellow legs glowed like they were fluorescent and the bird seemed like a mix between Spotted Redshank and Greenshank but then again not quite either. If you couldn’t see the legs on this bird I guess it could be easily confused with something much commoner. I came away dead chuffed and not even slightly bothered that I had missed a Green-winged Teal on the way past. I headed back to the van where, late afternoon 50 Fieldfares flew over and in the evening, the usual Tawny Owl began calling next to the van.
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