Wader Fest & Rare county visitor

Yesterday I went down to Teesside pretty much as soon as news broke of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, I had seen the species before at exactly the same place on exactly the same pool last year. The odds are that this is the same bird. What was different from last year is that the bird was not as advanced in its moult and therefore was still a very stunning looking bird. It was pretty much still in full summer plumage, brilliant! Wader galore with at least 10 Curlew Sandpiper present and a cracking Little Stint. Here is the total list of the 13 species of wader seen:
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Little Stint
Snipe
Dunlin
Ruff
Redshank
Knot
Curlew
Ringed Plover
Black-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Greenshank


Here are my poor attempts to do this bird justice:

(Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Please view the video in HD, if unsure how to do this; CLICK HERE.

(Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - © Andrew Kinghorn)

However Martyn Sidwell managed the following superb shots of the bird:

 (Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - © Martyn Sidwell)

(Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - © Martyn Sidwell)

Today I had an hour or so out and decided to try for the Black Guillemot at Parton Rocks at Hartlepool Headland. Bird was very distant but still a rare bird in Durham by all means, only 1 or 2 records a year in Durham. Hard to twitch and you nearly always need to be on seawatch and just hope one flys past to see one.

Black Guillemot and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper take my Durham Year List (BOU) to 224.

Until next time, Foghorn out!