Patch Tick at Oare Marshes

Massive flock of Black Tailed Godwits.

I spent a couple of enjoyable hours at Oare Marshes yesterday 11th August , i pulled into the lay by next to the East flood and was greeted with the above sight , quite stunning to see so many waders up close and personal , i would guess there was 1000 + Black Tailed Godwits spread right across the East flood , add that to 100+ Avocets , 200+ Redshanks plus lesser numbers of Ruff and a small flock of approx 20 Golden Plover and you get a feel of the spectacle unfolding in front of me .

Mixed flock of waders.

Glorious sunshine with quite a breeze made this a very pleasant visit , seeing the waders take to the air when they were spooked was amazing to see , once they had all settled again i started to scan through them just in case something had appeared which i had not seen earlier , then something caught my eye close in on the small island near the lay by , yes !!! it was one of the juv. Wood Sandpipers that i was hoping to see  and it was not long when i noticed the second Wood Sandpipers flying out of sight , i put these out on the pager and then the first bird i saw took off as well , typical ...lol .

Two juvenile Wood Sandpipers .

Luckily it was not long until one then the second bird both reappeared in more or less the same location .

Wood Sandpipers

These are one of my favourite wading birds , they are so smart and elegant , i spent most of time here watching them , there were a couple of Yellow Wagtails around the reed edges plus a small party of Swallows and a single Sand Martin flew through , other birds of note were up to 5 Little Egrets , 2 Grey Herons , a very flighty flock of 50 + Lapwings , a single Common Gull and several Black Headed Gulls drifting around , on checking my records the 2 Wood Sandpipers were new for me at  Oare Marshes .