Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Frampton Marsh

Buff-breasted Sandpiper has proved a difficult bird to catch up with, having dipped at least three in Kent and Dorset in recent years. I did finally manage to see my first one at Scotney GP's last year. It wasn't the best of views, with heat haze and distance making viewing the bird more difficult than I had hoped for.

So when one was found at Frampton Marsh early Thursday morning, we made the 220-mile round trip mid-morning. Unfortunately, after four hours of searching, we failed to locate the bird, I had dipped another Buff-breasted Sandpiper! Worse was to follow when the bird was re-found an hour after we had left for home.

There had been intermittent reports of the continued presence of the Sandpiper during Friday and with heavy overnight rain forecast, we headed back to Frampton this morning arriving shortly after 7am. We began scanning the flooded pools North of the old car park, finding Spotted Redshank, Knot, Golden plover, Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin, Avocet, Ringed Plover, and Black-tailed Godwits. With no sign of the target bird, Brian walked to the sea wall and found the long-billed Dowitcher and his first Whinchat of the year. I had stayed at the viewing mound by the car park so we could cover more of the area from different angles. Eventually, the news we had hoped for came through, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been found. The birders who were scanning the pools from the sea wall gate suddenly shifted on mass and headed further along the sea wall to join several other birders looking towards a grass bank in the middle of the Flooded grasslands. We quickly joined them and after some general directions, the bird suddenly appeared from behind the long grass. it showed well albeit distant. It then took flight and headed towards the old car park before turning back and landing on another grass bank behind the sleeping Spoonbills. It was distant for photographs but allowed excellent scope views.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper on the grass bank

The photo below shows the distance the Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen from, with the 360 hide centre-right, Mute Swans in the foreground and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper behind the line of Spoonbills on the left.

View from the sea-wall

Mute Swans feeding in a drainage ditch