I was concentrating on ducks but there were some other birds around in the port last weekend. 3 species of grebe including Red-necked and Slavonian…………….
And the Sanderling flock was still there. Maybe they’ve been there all winter?
Dunlin are regular wintering waders and there is a small flock of them every year in or near one of the ports in Oshamanbe.
I was very surprised to see a flock of Sanderling in a different port: I’d never seen them in winter here.
I think Sanderling was the first shorebird I positively identified. I must have been about 11 or 12 (?) and I remember seeing this small white wader running around on Blackpool Beach on a cold wintry day. Afterward I went to my Great-aunt’s house nearby and she had a copy of ‘The Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe’ and I found the Sanderling in there looked just like the one I’d seen earlier.
And here we are 40 years later.
It’s been a bit of a lazy last few weeks. The weather has been either unbearably hot or very stormy. Not many birds around either.
There were some Sanderlings near Yakumo yesterday. A common enough bird at this time of year but one of my personal favourites. It was an overcast windy, humid day and not great for photos.
