Yesterday I made what will probably be my last visit to Spurn this year, as I'm shortly away to my other home in Southern Portugal for the Winter. Kilnsea Wetlands was still the focus for wader activity and we had no sooner begun scanning the birds, when a distant Dotterel was picked up in a flock of Redshank. A good addition to my year list and a bird which is scarce at Spurn, but does occur on passage. The Dotterel disappeared under a bank and wasn't seen again despite watching for a long time. The resting waders were frequently disturbed by one of the juvenile Peregrines which have been hunting the Wetlands regularly. It passed through three or four times on my visit, making a landing for a brief moment. I noticed the Knots had an interesting way of avoiding the aggressive Peregrine as it hurtled through. From the mud bank, the Knots took to the water and huddled in a tight formation, as if to present a solid mass of birds. Many of the previously reported waders were still present, including Common Sandpiper and this, one of two Wood Sandpipers. After enjoying the wader spectacle over the high tide time, I checked out the canal scrape where I found a Green Sandpiper. This was the only wader on the scrape at this time. On leaving the scrape, a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a nearby power pole. Always an unusual bird to see here, in this low-lying habitat, but does occur regularly. A call on my radio left me in no doubt that I had should have stayed at the Wetlands a little longer. A White-rumped Sandpiper had dropped in front of the hide briefly. It then flew across the Wetland where it was flushed by a Merlin and vanished out onto the estuary. I returned to Kilnsea on the off-chance of its return and was pleased to see one of my favourite waders of Autumn - a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. A really distinct and smart plumage with down-curved bill. As the tide receded on the estuary, another report of a Dotterel came in. I'm not convinced that this wasn't a different bird and clearly a pale juvenile. The Dotterel on the Wetland had dark reddish underparts as in a moulting adult, but this was not the case with this individual.
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