Sunday Bob and I had a little jaunt around North Cornwall in the rain to seek out waders once again. We had a great day and although we didn't find anything particularly rare we had a nice selection considering the conditions. However we did have something that in our opinion was probably a once in a lifetime event and of great interest to us!
Whilst at Davidstow catching up with a third Buff-breast that had turned up in the week, Bob picked up on a Ringed Plover sporting a Yellow Flag! We tried to read the code with no luck and it flew high and into the mizzle and fog that enveloped the airfield. Out of view and lost from sight we made the decision to travel up to Bude and check out Maer Lake. Not an easy decision to make as Bob and I are both obsessed with colour ring reading and a Wader is like hitting the Jackpot! But we knew it was the right thing to do as we wanted to cover several locations during the day.
I guess thankfully, Maer Lake was quite and despite a thorough check by the both of us didn't really produce anything that made us want to hang about to long. This meant that we had time to give Davidstow another go and see if we could pin down the colour ringed Plover. It took a bit of hunting down but eventually we picked it up again and with some gentle manoeuvring of the car managed to read the code VSV.
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| Yellow flagged VSV on Davidstow Airfield. |
The bird was ringed at Giske Ornithological Station, Norway just 25 days beforehand! Please see map below to get a perspective of the 910 miles that this individual travelled in such a short time.
Ecstatic with our find we headed to Wadebridge to check out Walmsley and the Camel Estuary . We started on the Camel as we wanted to get a look what was around on the rising tide and see what got pushed out of the nooks and crannies. It became apparent early on that there were a lot more waders about compared to my previous visit the week before. Only one small problem, a bloody Peregrine was hunting in the area and everything was on high alert and flying all over the shop. I have a lot of respect for this most amazing aerial predator and Bob is an active surveyor for the South West Peregrine group so we spend sometime in the summer surveying and monitoring eyeries along the North Cornwall coast. That said when you are trying to count and see waders and one is in the area your love and respect soon fades to a pair of fingers being raised in its general direction!
Bob picked up on a large group of waders heading up river and out of view so we headed up after them. We picked up an estimated 50% of what we seen travelling up river, this consisted mainly of Dunlin but had a few Ringed Plover too. We waited with the current flock in a hope that the rest would comeback and join them. Sadly the Peregrine put in another appearance and most birds were in the air again. Eventually after the panicked birds calmed a large flock of Dunlin could be seen out on the mud flats at distance amongst the flock was a single Stint/Peep. Whilst it did look to be a Little I was not happy that I had checked it properly and did not want to overlook something different. A short while later the birds appeared to fly down to the mudflats at our original location back down the river, so I said to Bob that I was going to check the different bird more thoroughly. He opted to stay where he was in case they flew back up river. I made my way to the location and sure enough there was a good sized flock feeding just below my chosen bench. I soon picked up the different wader and it was indeed a Little Stint which was showing wonderfully.
I decided to make the most of having the birds in close proximity and started scanning through them and soaking them up. Bugger me, a Ringed Plover was present with a Yellow flag, I couldn't believe that the bird from Davidstow had made it to the Estuary so quickly! I settled the scope and read the flag, TZS. Another colour ringed wader on the same day! I checked it again to ensure I had all the details correct and documented ready for submission. Another Ringed Plover ran past and something bright caught my eye. I panned with the scope to catch up with it and it had a series of colour rings! I studied it and read the combination and I was ecstatic, a third colour ringed Plover!
The tide was quite away in now so we headed to Walmsley. Apart from ducks it seemed fairly routine on arrival. We did have our first Pintail of the autumn which is always exciting to see. We then had three little Stints flying into the reserve and land behind some rushes at the back of the reserve. They were soon being hunted by a Sparrowhawk which inadvertently flushed four more bringing our total to seven. It seems to be a good year for the species in the county! Perhaps the most exciting sighting was of two Otters playing and hunting on and around the islands. We had good views for around five minutes before they seem to just vanish into thin air! A most enjoyable visit, but I could not wait to find out where all the Ringed Plovers had come from. As soon as I got home I fired up the computer and was searching for the relevant schemes. This to me is one of the most enjoyable parts!
The flagged bird was obviously again from Giske Ornithological Station, Norway and was ringed 38 days prior to its discovery on the Camel Estuary with no other sightings anywhere else.
Bob picked up on a large group of waders heading up river and out of view so we headed up after them. We picked up an estimated 50% of what we seen travelling up river, this consisted mainly of Dunlin but had a few Ringed Plover too. We waited with the current flock in a hope that the rest would comeback and join them. Sadly the Peregrine put in another appearance and most birds were in the air again. Eventually after the panicked birds calmed a large flock of Dunlin could be seen out on the mud flats at distance amongst the flock was a single Stint/Peep. Whilst it did look to be a Little I was not happy that I had checked it properly and did not want to overlook something different. A short while later the birds appeared to fly down to the mudflats at our original location back down the river, so I said to Bob that I was going to check the different bird more thoroughly. He opted to stay where he was in case they flew back up river. I made my way to the location and sure enough there was a good sized flock feeding just below my chosen bench. I soon picked up the different wader and it was indeed a Little Stint which was showing wonderfully.
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| Little Stint on the Camel Estuary |
The tide was quite away in now so we headed to Walmsley. Apart from ducks it seemed fairly routine on arrival. We did have our first Pintail of the autumn which is always exciting to see. We then had three little Stints flying into the reserve and land behind some rushes at the back of the reserve. They were soon being hunted by a Sparrowhawk which inadvertently flushed four more bringing our total to seven. It seems to be a good year for the species in the county! Perhaps the most exciting sighting was of two Otters playing and hunting on and around the islands. We had good views for around five minutes before they seem to just vanish into thin air! A most enjoyable visit, but I could not wait to find out where all the Ringed Plovers had come from. As soon as I got home I fired up the computer and was searching for the relevant schemes. This to me is one of the most enjoyable parts!
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| Yellow Flagged TZS on the Camel Estuary |
The flagged bird was obviously again from Giske Ornithological Station, Norway and was ringed 38 days prior to its discovery on the Camel Estuary with no other sightings anywhere else.
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| Colour ringed Ringed Plover on the Camel Estuary |
The second bird sporting the colour rings was from a different location! This individual was colour-ringed as a chick at nature reserve Beltringharder Koog in northern Germany at 11th of June 2016. It was seen at Frampton Marsh RSPB Reserve at 25th of July 2016 and later on the Camel Estuary on the 4th of December, 2016. So it seems as if the Camel is a favourite wintering spot for this individual and great to see that it made its way back for another year!
To get three colour ringed waders in a day is truly epic. I always find it fascinating and I always look for the learning in such finds. If you would like to know more about colour rings please take a look at the following BTO page: https://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/about-ringing/why-colour-ring-birds
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