We had hoped to visit Castlemartin Range today, but the area is closed 7 days a week until October. Instead, we went back to Angle Bay where we bumped into others including George Mee and Fiona Day, David Ord, Mike Davey and Rob Lewis who were also looking for the pectoral sandpiper.
There were fewer waders on the shore near the Fort Popton road - quite a few walkers/dog-walkers about! A scan of waders at the Sawdern Point roosts revealed more than 100 curlews and oystercatchers. From a closer look further up the road we could see that at least two of the curlews had colour-rings above the tarsus joint. Unfortunately, we could not make out particular combinations very well. Annie managed to get a rather distant photo of one of the birds (possibly black & white stripes right leg; red? left leg). Was it ringed locally by Paddy and Mike et al.?
The pectoral sandpiper was on the rocky shore there
too, but the sighting was all too brief before it probably flew off with most
of the curlews etc. We searched other likely spots along the shore and over at
the harbour, but we failed to relocate it. Hopefully there is a reasonable
chance of it sticking around though, so it could be worthwhile someone checking the shore
again.
Other birds along the shore included a few bar-tailed godwits, several
ringed plovers, a few turnstones, whimbrel and a roosting flock of
10 little egrets. We saw none there yesterday, but the light was poor then.