Baird's Sandpiper,Hatfield Moor NNR,Saturday 10th September 2016.

After continual reports of the juvenile Baird's Sand all week,which had been expertly found at Hatfield Moor during a purple patch for wading birds on the NNR,which included 2 Pec's and a Buff-breasted Sand,this is where i headed this afternoon.
 I had just finished a long week of 12 hour night shifts,so had been catching up on some sleep in the morning and thanks to some helpfull updates that the bird was still present,i headed over to the reserve this afternoon.
 After negotiating the bumpy Sand Lane in Wroot,i parked up,got the gear together and headed over the little bridge towards the NNR.
 A quick scan along the river bank as i was crossing,revealed a smart juvenile Whinchat sallying after insects from the bankside vegetation,a nice start to the visit i thought.
 I followed the excellent instructions to where the bird had been seen,supplied by the Hatfield Moors Birding Blog lads and as i walked along the final stretch towards the area known as Ethelmoor,i could see a few birders watching something and hoped it was the Baird's.
 As i arrived at the group,sure enough they were watching the Baird's,albeit distantly at the other side of the pool.At this range and with a 30x eyepiece,the bird was subtly different than the accompanying Dunlin,being obviously long winged,giving an attenuated rear end to it's profile,shorter,straighter bill,distinct breast band and more methodical feeding action,picking food items from the surface of the mud.
 As we watched the flock,they eventually came closer and at one point they were as close as 25 metres away,giving fantastic scope views.At closer range all the features of this cracking little yank could now be appreciated much more clearly,the scalloped patterning to the coverts really standing out now,what a little beauty!.
 I attempted to get some photos of the bird,when it was close,but only achieved a series of record shots due to the garbage light conditions,but managed a few with it feeding with a Dunlin for comparison.
 After enjoying a good hour or so of views of the bird,the flock worked it's way further again to the other side of the pool and i decided to make my way back to the car.
 The only other bird of note i saw on my visit was a smart juvenile Marsh harrier hunting the pools and moor.
 A great few hours out watching this superb little wader.

Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper,with Juvenile Dunlin.

Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper With Juvenile Dunlin.

Juvenile Common Buzzard,Hatfield Village.

Juvenile Common Buzzard,Hatfield Village.