Another week and another trip to Scotland for work put me within striking
distance of this wonderful spotted sandpiper on the beach at Croy. It was
first seen for a few days in mid-October last year, but then went missing
until the end of January. I've been keeping my eye on it for a few weeks but
despite numerous work trips to Scotland this year I've not really been close
enough to justify it, until today.
It's an incredibly confiding bird and these were easily my best ever view of
the species. I stopped to photograph the grey wagtail at the bottom of this
post and suddenly saw the sandpiper walking behind it. It looked tiny amongst
the rocks on the shoreline. It just kept coming closer and closer and
eventually walked right past me at a distance of about 2m! In fact it didn't
just rush past, it was feeding and going back and forth as it walked, not
concerned by me at all.
It's a 1st winter bird but is starting to show a few spots and presumably will
be in full adult summer plumage within another few weeks. A really smart bird.
It spent a lot of time looking skyward which is always a sign that something
is going over, but in this instance I think it's main concern was the rooks
from a nearby colony.
Spot the spotted sandpiper.
Male grey wagtail.
Croy Shore beach. You get some great views from here of Culzean castle, Ailsa Craig and Arran.
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