Farlington Foray

19 Sept - Another perfect cloudless day in prospect. I decided to head down to Farlington where a rare vagrant, an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, has been present for the last few days. As back up there is a good variety of waders especially on passage, and high tide was early afternoon. I arrived to see a small group of birders watching the hawthorn bushes, the EOW was still present and I had excellent views within 5 minutes of arriving - distinctively long-billed, with distinctive tail-dipping and a soft call that enabled the bird to be tracked when within the vegetation. I therefore had plenty of time to look for waders as the tide gradually rose, and I checked the adjacent Langstone harbour and also drove round to a couple of wader spots on Hayling Island. Langstone proved the most productive with birds gradually moving onto the lagoon as the tide rose, with Greenshanks and Grey Plovers proving the last to be pushed off by the rising tide as it covered the remaining mud islands. There was a good variety of waders present including 2-3 Curlew Sandpipers, at least 15 Greenshanks and 25+ Knot, amongst the more numerous Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank and Dunlin, together with impressive Curlews with their decurved bills. Greenshanks are one of my favourite waders, always so elegant, so a flock of 13 in one scope view was a real treat. Some of the Grey Plovers were only just beginning to moult out of their stunning summer plumage, presumably having recently arrived from their Arctic breeding areas. The Curlew Sandpipers present were fairly easy to pick out from the neighbouring Dunlin, with longer decurved bills and legs, and larger size, together with their active feeding behaviour thigh-deep in the water. Hayling held about 15 or so Bar-tailed Godwits, a regular site for them. I also saw the remarkable total of at least 46 Little Egrets during the morning. An excellent day.