Pectoral Sandpiper and House Finch

East Prawle and Maer Lake NR

Firstly a bit of late news. Yesterday I spent a few hours at East Prawle and after a brief wait eventually found the long staying House Finch. This controversial yellow variant House Finch is in heavy moult and has now lost most of the yellow colouration and gained a red tinge to the breast. I'm not sure what my thoughts are on this bird yet, it has many good and bad credentials and I will leave it as a anomaly for now.

Maer Lake NR

Today I ventured over the border into Cornwall to have a look for the recent Sandpiper species which have been present at Maer Lake NR near Bude. Initially I managed to find 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Wood Sandpiper, 5 Little Ringed Plover and 6 Dunlin, with no sign of either the Curlew or Pectoral Sandpiper which had been reported the day before. After about 2 hours the Pectoral Sandpiper revealed itself, flying from the near shore (which is not viewable) to the far shore, see above. I managed to watch the bird for 15minutes before it was flushed by a Peregrine Falcon, along with 2 Wood Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper which I had not seen previously. A successful day with some great birds, good to see that so many waders are using this small coastal lake.