I headed out to The Plym again on Sunday 11th August, it was overcast, warm and with a brisk easterly breeze and as the morning wore on it became hot and sunny with the breeze strengthening somewhat. I arrived off the bus at Marsh Mills at around 10am and headed down to Blaxton Meadow for the high tide roost. Unfortunately a fisherman was out on the river embankment in the no entry conservation zone so I wasn't expecting any birds to be present on The Meadow but luckily for me there were.
A quick scan from the viewing platform revealed 3 Ringed Plovers out on the waters edge, an uncommon Plym visitor these days, and I went to text local birder Pete with the news only to find he had already texted me! His text also contained news of 16 Dunlin being present and I picked up some of them on a quick scan about, I also noticed Pete was over on the opposite side of The Meadow at the bird hide. I began to try and count the Dunlin but they were mobile around The Meadow as the tide rose and I couldn't reach a total of 16 birds each time I tried but I did find another 4 Ringed Plover present giving a count of 7 birds in total.
Eventually I finally reached a count of 16 birds but there was a very pale looking bird present amongst them and just as I went to have a proper look at it the fisherman returned off the embankment and flushed everything off The Meadow with all the small waders except for 3 of the Ringed Plover flying off downriver. I was sure the pale wader was a Sanderling though and a text from Pete confirmed it but I really would have liked a better view of it - unfortunately for me the one that got away.
Also out on The Meadow were 11 Greenshank, 10 Little Egret, 7 Grey Heron, 4 juvenile Shelduck and 4 Oystercatcher along with 100+Redshank and 33 Curlew including Dartmoor bird J7. The usual Gulls were present including a smart looking juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull constantly begging food from an adult bird but with no luck.
It was quiet around The Park as usual with 4 Chiffchaff flitting about in the brambles, a Kestrel hovering over Chelson Meadow, a Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch heard only, Mandarin Ducks on the duck pond and House Martins and Swallows overhead the highlights. A female Brimstone in front of the bird hide was a Plym year first and Peacock, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Common Blue and Whites were also seen.
After my walk around The Park I returned to Blaxton Meadow as the tide began to drop, more in hope than expectation, as expected there was no sign of the Sanderling although finding a smart looking Black-tailed Godwit amongst the Curlew was some consolation. I then walked downriver to Laira Bridge where 2 Sandwich Terns were flying around, an adult and a juvenile bird, Pete had sent me a heads-up text already about their prescence but their noisy calls easily gave them away.
A quick look around nearby Blagdons Meadow revealed good numbers of flowering Autumn Lady's-Tresses while along the beach a juvenile Wheatear was a nice find. Even better was a large and powerful looking juvenile Peregrine flying over the river and scattering all the Gulls out on the mudflats, presumably a female bird and with very smart looking brown toned plumage. An Old Lady in the nearby underpass was a nice end to my walk.
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