My first port of call was Chew Valley where two scarce/mildly rare American waders, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper had been present for a few days.
Chew Vally lake is a large manmade reservoir which was created in the early 1950s and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. It provides much of the drinking water for Bristol and the surrounding area, taking its supply from the Mendip Hills.
Early autumn has been characterised by mainly westerly winds which have brought in good numbers of American Vagrants. The best, i.e. rarest of the bunch, were two birds on the Silly Isles, Solitary Sandpiper and Upland Sandpiper, both of which are absent from my UK list but I think I would only contemplate a day twitch to Silly for something really rare. In the past week, in terms of American waders, there have been 11 Lesser Yellowlegs, 35 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, 45 Pectoral Sandpiper and 19 Baird’s Sandpiper reported, all be it that some of these reports may be the same bird moving on to a different location.
The Chew Valley American waders were located on Herriot’s pool off of the main reservoir which can be conveniently viewed from a long bridge where there is ample parking. I picked up both birds fairly quickly but, all be it, somewhat distantly in my scope . Much too far away for anything but record shots so here, as is becoming normal practice, are some ones I took earlier.
The Lesser Yellowlegs breeds in the boreal forest region of North America and migrates to spend winter on the Gulf coast of the USA , the Caribbean and south America. In breeding plumage, the upperparts are mottled with grey-brown, black, and white. The underparts are white with irregular brown streaking on the breast and neck. In non-breeding plumage, the upperparts are more uniform grey brown. The legs, it goes without saying, are bright pillar box red. ….. 😂
The Pectoral Sandpiper is a very long-distance migrant. About 50% of the species breeds in the boggy tundra of northern Asia , the rest nesting in a range from Alaska to central Canada. The American and most of the Asian birds winter in South America but some Asian breeders winter in Australia and New Zealand. They have a grey breast, sharply demarcated at its lower edge, which gives this species its English name. The Pecroral means relating to, located on, or worn on the chest or breast. This clear V-shaped dividing line is the first thing I look for when trying to find a Pec Sandpiper. It is particularly conspicuous if the birds are turned towards you. The legs are yellowish, and the bill is olive with a darker tip.
I then moved onto the comparatively nearby and excellent RSPB reserve at Ham Wall. This reserve has fond twitching memories for me as my first and only UK River Warbler and Little Bittern were recorded there.
I walked down to the spacious Avalon hide while keeping a look out for any Bearded Tits but I didn’t pick up any. I spent most of the afternoon in the hide hoping for closer views of another reported Pec Sandpiper and the small flock of reported Glossy Ibis. The only Sandpiper I saw during my visit was a more common Green one but I did have excellent views of the Ibis. They were continually squabbling amongst themselves which proved to be a quite a spectacle and allowed me to capture a few flight shots.
The Glossy Ibis seems set on UK colonisation with flocks of up to 70 birds reported a couple of winters ago. Along with their heron cousins the Egrets, their range expansion has been driven by an increasing population and global warming which has dried out many of their previous habitats in southern Europe. The first confirmed successful breeding in the UK took place in Cambridgeshire in 2022
Humans have a long history of special relationships with the exotic ibis family. The ancient Egyptians, who thought animals were incarnations of gods on Earth, worshipped the sacred Ibis as the god Thoth, who was responsible for maintaining the universe, judging the dead, and overseeing systems of magic, writing, and science.
I finished my day just a few miles away at Westhay Moor NNR where I have previously had considerable success with Bearded Tits. They change diet from insects to seeds as Autum progresses and digest grit in order to help them digest the seeds. Grit is often put out for them at this time of year which can facilitate excellent views but again I did not see any – I would guess the exceptional warm weather we have experienced this year means that there are still plenty of insects around to keep them nourished.
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| From a previous Westhay visit |
Another birder told me that a Kingfisher was showing well from the North hide so I spent the last hours of daylight in the company of other photographers enjoying this real avian gem before heading home up the M5.
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