While the rest of the country was awash with passage waders, the Solway had thin pickings until the last week or so ...
A week ago there were four Greenshanks at Glasson Point and a paltry five Knot there - today the Greenshanks numbered at least six and Knot numbers had rocketed up to around 500. As is so often the case on the Solway, these birds were at a range of at least 400m and looking into the bright morning sun even phonescoping was out of the question - a good start to the day however.
Campfield Scrape was uninspiring with only Wigeon, Teal and a probable sleeping Pintail which was looking worryingly inactive ...
The sun was again tricky at Anthorn but there were clearly good numbers of waders present and a nice adult male Ruff quickly lifted the spirits ...
... there were some small groups of Dunlin and scrutiny of these flocks soon revealed a few juvenile Curlew Sandpipers ...
... the tide was now starting to rise and among the Redshank and Dunlins, more Curlew Sandpipers showed up as the movement of the wader flocks became increasingly energised ...
... with the constant movements it was difficult to be sure of numbers but seven Curlew Sandpipers and five Ruff would be a conservative estimate ... the tidal bore was impressive to see, and hear as the water rushed in ...
... even in the gentle breeze this Ruff showed the typical tertials blowing around ...
Golden Plovers numbered around four hundered and nearby about twenty Grey Plovers and a few Ringed Plovers added to the Wader list. More Greenshanks appeared here too. Curlews, an impressive 100+ Black-tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers and Lapwings were scattered around also to add to the cast list of a true wader-fest.
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