On the evening of Monday 22 August, local birder Tim Bourne found an adult Lesser Yellowlegs at Vange Marsh, near Pitsea in south Essex. Having already seen this species multiple times in the UK (and one Greater Yellowlegs), I didn't rush off to twitch it immediately. The last bird I saw, pictured below, was in East Sussex in January 2015.
But I'd never seen one in Essex before, so went to county tick it on the Thursday (25 August). The heat haze was horrendous, destroying any chance of remotely reasonable views. I picked it out very distantly on the lagoon and had to ID it based on shape, along with a couple of Spotted Redshanks. I wasn't satisfied with this so went back two days later in the hope of better views.
I dragged myself out of bed on the Saturday afternoon and hopped on the train to Pitsea. The yellowlegs was present on the west side of the lagoon, giving reasonable scope views but still not fantastic. Also seen from here were c. 10 Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Bearded Tit and Yellow Wagtail, but no sign of the recently reported Glossy Ibis and Great White Egret.
It was last seen on 01 September and now seems to have departed.
Happy birding, Max.
But I'd never seen one in Essex before, so went to county tick it on the Thursday (25 August). The heat haze was horrendous, destroying any chance of remotely reasonable views. I picked it out very distantly on the lagoon and had to ID it based on shape, along with a couple of Spotted Redshanks. I wasn't satisfied with this so went back two days later in the hope of better views.
I dragged myself out of bed on the Saturday afternoon and hopped on the train to Pitsea. The yellowlegs was present on the west side of the lagoon, giving reasonable scope views but still not fantastic. Also seen from here were c. 10 Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Bearded Tit and Yellow Wagtail, but no sign of the recently reported Glossy Ibis and Great White Egret.
 |
| From North America to South Essex |
It was last seen on 01 September and now seems to have departed.
Happy birding, Max.
Comments
Post a Comment