Along with Glossy Ibis there is quite an influx of Curlew Sandpipers going on at the moment and with them being one of my favourite waders I've been keen to try and catch up with one. A single bird had been reported on The Plym but it must have moved on as I failed to find it there on my visit on Friday 12th September but there have been regular reports coming through of birds being seen at Bowling Green Marsh and so I planned a visit there the next day for the high tide roost.
The September weather continues to be dire, it's mostly cool, wet and windy but I figured I would at least keep dry in the hide at Bowling Green Marsh if it rained. However I had a message from local birder Jenny of a Curlew Sandpiper being found along the beach at Wembury and so I switched plans and decided to visit there instead. The weather may be dire but the forecasting isn't that great either, Saturday 13th September was meant to be breezy and dry with sunny spells but as I was getting ready to leave the house to catch the 7am bus a torrential downpour rattled through. Luckily I decided to take an umbrella with me and I was very glad I did as more heavy downpours passed through while I was on my walk at Wembury but at least it kept the majority of walkers and dogs at home.
On arriving off the bus at Wembury I headed straight out to the sewage pipe at The Point where Jenny had seen the Curlew Sandpiper the previous day. The tide was heading in and it was going to be another high spring tide with the onshore breeze pushing the water up even higher onto the beach. I had a look about but all I could find were a few Oystercatchers hunkered down on the sand along with a few Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls. Eventually 4 Bar-tailed Godwits appeared from under the cliff where they had been feeding out of sight and with them was a small wader which turned out to be the Curlew Sandpiper - result!
It gave some great views as it fed along the beach in the company of the Godwits and was eventually joined by 2 Sanderlings with all 3 species often in binocular view at the same time and all showing very crisp and smart plumage. It is only my third Wembury sighting of a Curlew Sandpiper and so much better (and cheaper) than travelling up to Bowling Green Marsh to see one.
Also seen along the beach were 6 Little Egrets, 2 Curlews, a Turnstone, a Common Sandpiper and a Wheatear but the biggest surprise was a Kingfisher which flew into the bushes on the cliff face before being chased off by a Chiffchaff, not a regular sighting at Wembury.
Other sightings of note included Gannets offshore, 5 Cirl Buntings (2 males) in the stubble field with 2 Canada Geese and 2 Pheasants, overhead Kestrel and Buzzard, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst the Gulls in the stubble field and 3 Rabbits in the horse field. Best of all though was a Peregrine which swooped along the beach scattering the waders, it chased down one of the Bar-tailed Godwits out to sea before giving up and heading off towards The Yealm.
I walked up to the dead tree along Brownhill Lane again before catching the bus home, the Rose-coloured Starling hasn't been seen for a week now and it wasn't present today although the usual Starlings were perched up on the nearby telegraph wires.
And so I've achieved my Autumn Five quite straightforwardly this year with Curlew Sandpiper completing the set (although I did see the overwintering bird on The Plym back in January and February). I've also managed to see 4 out of the 5 in the Plymouth area as well (Osprey, Yellow Wagtail, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper) which is not particularly easy to achieve and I've never seen Wood Sandpiper in the Plymouth area before anyway. However it does now feel like summer is done and I'm entering what is for me the quietest birding time of the year but who knows what is next?
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