Monday 15 March 2021

Spotted sandpiper, Croy


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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