Least Sandpiper – Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve, East Yorkshire, 20^th October 1999

My failed attempt to capture the intricacies of the Least Sandpiper's complex plumage. A definite drawer's block outbreak involved.

The revitalised birding career of yours truly continued following the significant successes of the early autumn, in the form of the Royal Tern and Short-billed Dowitcher.

This was just as well, given what was occurring in the Scillies that autumn where the likes of Ken Shaw (who when Gillian, Ellen and I went to see the Lesser Scaup at Vane Farm asked us whether we were going to the Scillies, and suggested that he could sort us out with accommodation on St. Agnes!) were making the most of goodies including Siberian Thrush, White’s Thrush, Short-toed Eagle, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue Rock Thrush, etc., etc..

So perhaps by way on consolation, on the afternoon of Monday the 18th October, Gillian and Ellen and I decided to take in the Red-flanked Bluetail at St Abb’s Head on the spur of the moment and all(?) of us were rewarded with excellent views. Memorably, I put down my Barbour jacket on one side of a sunlight glade and sat Ellen on it, and then retreated to the other side of the glade to be rewarded by really good views of the bluetail feeding in front of Ellen; meanwhile fuckwits chased about elsewhere in the wood alongside Mire Loch looking for said bird……. .

This was my third one, which balanced somewhat incongruously with the news breaking that afternoon of a Least Sandpiper at Blacktoft Sands RSPB. Reserve, a species which I should have perhaps caught up with by now. Some of the birders at St. Abbs Head had come from Blacktoft Sands having seen the bird, so I was soon plotting my strategy for a trip south.

When we left St. Abbs Head we went into Dunbar for fish and chips, and if Ellen hadn’t seen the Red-flanked Bluetail she certainly saw the Herring Gulls that clambered all over the car as we consumed our fish suppers down at the harbour. But my mind was elsewhere…… .

By ‘happy’ coincidence I was planning to be in Burnley the following day, to be with Mum on the day she received the results of her medical tests, and to pick up Ellen’s birthday present from her Grandma.

I worked on the Tuesday morning, and then, having liaised with Gillian, I packed and then ‘phoned Mum to advise her of my plans. Ellen and I travelled from Kirkliston to Burnley in between 17:45 and 21:15 and, as always, she was as good as a very good thing. I was glad to be in Burnley with my Mum that night as she had been told that day of the positive confirmation that she had myloma, and also the implications of this news.

Incidentally, I suspect this was the first time I had been trusted to have Ellen overnight / away from home on my own. As she was such a good child, this went very well, except for one significant scare. I had purchased a bag of wine gums for the journey, and spent some of the drive handing back to Ellen wine gums I had bitten in half (a full one being too big for her). Given it was late for her when we got to my Mum’s she had fallen asleep during the latter stages of the journey. When I awoke her on arriving at Mum’s I was horrified to see a bright red substance congealed on the side of her neck; not a good look. However, this proved to be a melted red wine gum which she had evidently missed her mouth with, which had then melted when she slumped asleep…… .

The following morning, that of the 20th October, I got up at 06:00 and departed by 06:30, so that I was at Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve by c.08:10. Having assembled my gear I made my way to the visitor’s reception to be greeted by Andrew Grieve, miserable sod, who seemed almost pleased (if this was something he was capable of) to tell us that ‘it’ hadn’t been seen as yet that morning. Greatly cheered by this news, I made my way to the hide that he had suggested most people were in. Predictably, it was rather full, and the bird was not there. There was a nervous wait in a reasonably full hide, standing room only, and there were only a few waders on show to offer any distraction. However, before the wait became too unbearable, it came in with a Little Stint and several Dunlin. Thank goodness for that, or something similar, was the expression that came to mind!

It showed well from the hide for the next hour or so whilst I stayed there, although it, and its cohorts, was quite flighty and so frequently moved around. For much of the time it was watched whilst feeding on the muddy flats often immediately adjacent to the reed-beds. Towards the end of my stay (I was conscious that I should be back at Mum’s quite soon to make sure Ellen was okay) it moved to the edge of the mudflats in front of the hide, and as such showed as well as it had at any time earlier, although it was still at a range of some 60 m or so.

All the same the views were reasonable, and so I was able to take in most, if not all, of the main i.d. features. It was tiny, as you would expect of what is apparently the world’s smallest wader. I wondered just how big Most Sandpiper must be…… . It was seen to be smaller than the accompanying Little Stint, and unbelievably, at times appeared to be literally half the size of the accompanying Dunlin.

It’s shape / stature was typical of small waders, but it was ‘podgy’ and front heavy with shortish legs. It was ‘neckless’ and had an angular head. It was not all non-stop action in the same way as Sanderling for instance; its actions were jerky.

The leg colour was seen to be pale (i.e., not dark) but it was not determined whether they were yellow-green or green, for instance. The bill was like that of a stint, and was dark and slightly decurved.

Its plumage was very rusty brown; this alone allowing the bird to be picked out from amongst the crowd, but views did not really allow any great detail to be recorded, for example, the face pattern and the white fringing on the back were not clearly seen.

I left, and returned to Burnley and later Kirkliston with Ellen, after a very successful overnight visit!

This account is the first for which no photograph is available. Iain Leach was able to get images which are to be found in Birding World 12 (11) page 432, and Plate 286 in British Birds 92. As such, I have included my original notebook entry here, including my contemporary sketch and its vaguely humorous caption.