Oare Marshes & Cliffe Pools
Another trip to Oare Marshes for the start of wader season. Well, the marshes always has waders but you know what I mean. It also has a regular returning Bonaparte's Gull that finds the Oare Marshes a pleasant place to spent a few weeks in the summer arriving from goodness knows where before finally heading off to goodness knows where. Wouldn't it be nice to know though. 'Napoleon' was starting to transition into winter plumage, but only just. On site today were six Ruff , the first Golden Plover with seven, and eight vocal Whimbrel seen departing to the west. Around 500+ Black-tailed Godwit and 100+ Avocet were regular fixtures on East Flood as were my first two Common Snipe of the autumn. A smart adult and three Curlew Sandpiper were there as well as a winter plumage Spotted Redshank , two of my favourite waders. I then headed over to Cliffe Pools. By this time, the sky had filled in and the clouds looked very menacing. I ...