Pett Level
17th August 2007, Friday
The roadside Wader Pool is back in business. Though the water level has been only slightly lowered, a good variety of waders has been attracted to the mud, adding to those already exploiting the shallows of Carter’s Flood.
I saw 18 wader species in the area this morning, viz Oystercatcher, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Little Stint, Sanderling, Dunlin, Ruff, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Greenshank, Green, Wood & Common Sandpipers and Turnstone.
The only other person at the pool was Phil Luffingham, who was for many years leader of the SOS Pools Project, when pumping was effected over a weekend in mid-July with a rather small pump attended overnight by various volunteers.
We were both delighted to be looking at a scene that reminded us of Old Times. In those days, Avocets were never seen; now they hardly attract comment. Wood Sandpipers used to be rather scarce too, but we had 2 right in front of us; there was a colourful adult Little Stint with 20 Dunlin at the back and a silvery Sanderling. This type of muddy pool is not really the right habitat for Sanderling, so when they turned up in the past – in brown summer plumage – they provoked all kinds of misidentification.
There were quite a few Wheatears about, some of them flying high up from the seawall over to the back of the marsh, their stubby silhouettes confusing till they got close. A wandering Nuthatch was once more calling at Chick Hill and was reported last week down as far as the E end of Toot Rock. 2 Ravens were also present at the W end of the marsh.
