August 1999 will be remembered among birders for its Marsh Sandpipers. A veritable influx into western Europe had produced two trios and several singles in Britain. A bird had taken up residence at a newly-created marsh net to a large factory at Sandwich, in Kent, so I decided to head down there for a look with my mate Philip Precey.
The leggy wader was on view when we arrived at the site, but quite distantly. Some birders told us we could follow a path to get much closer views, so we did just that. A little later, at the end of the track, we were treated to good views of this elegant Tringa. It appeared almost stilt-like as it picked around the pool on its long legs. In fact it made the usually-graceful Greenshanks with which it was hanging around look decidely clumsy. This new marsh was a haven for waders, presumably due to the glut of insects which is characteristic of new sites with lots of nutrients. Besides the Marsh Sandpiper, we found six Green Sandpipers, one Wood Sandpiper, a couple of Ruff and Snipe and Several Greenshanks. Nice.
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We headed to Grove Ferry where waders on the scrape included three Little Stints and single Green, Curlew and Common Sandpipers. Little else of note was present.
I hadn't known that the Long-billed Dowitcher that had been hanging out at Oare Marshes was a lifer for my co-pilot Philip, so when he told me this, we headed straight there. Waders packed the marshes and some provided excellent views by the roadside down to a few metres. These included a Wood Sandpiper and several Curlew Sandpipers. After a while I found the Dowitcher roosting among its commoner cousins. As usual a little non-descript but with striking yellow legs. Philip was at least happy! Other birds present included a Spotted Redshank and 300 Black-tailed Godwits.
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