Blast From The Past.......Pacific-golden Plover,South Ferriby,18th July 1993.

After Graham Catley had found an adult Pacific-golden Plover on the banks of the Humber Estuary at Read's Island near to South Ferriby and with myself missing it,i drove over to South Ferriby on this morning with this bird half in my mind.
 I had been walking along the Humber Bankside from the sluice at South Ferriby lock,scanning the estuary mud for any waders,when i noticed a Golden Plover flock infront of Ferriby Hall and i thought to myself,this lot will be worth grilling just incase.
 As i got nearer,i set the scope up and began to scan through the flock.....and then @'$* me,a small looking summer plumaged Plover in amongst the goldies,it had to be and it was....my heart raced as i began to watch this beautiful adult Pacific-golden Plover.
 At first i watched it from a distance,but eventually walked nearer steadily as to not spook the flock and eventually i was opposite this stunning bird...i still hadn't stopped shaking.
 I then settled down to watch this cracking bird as i studied it from as close as 70 metres away and took in all it's features including the longer bill,long gangly legs and very short primary projection,extending only slightly beyond the tail and tertial tips.It fed with a slightly more energetic feeding action than the goldies and really stood out from the crowd,with its black face,extending down onto its belly,with its striking white forehead extending over its eye and down its neck sides and along the flanks...what a bird! and i had found it.
 I carried on watching it,seeing the grey underwing as another clinching feature,when i could hear a tractor approaching.The tractor was heading straight for me and the goldie flock and as it neared,that was it and they were off.
 I was peed off that they had been flushed,but really glad i had nailed all the features to get it accepted,if only i could have shared my find.
 I travelled home back to Barton on a high and later found it had been seen on the front of Read's Island the next day.
 Some discussion ensued about the bird being the same as Graham's from two weeks earlier,as this bird seemed in brighter plumage and may well have been a different individual.
 It was accepted as the second record of Pacific-golden Plover for Lincolnshire and my rarest personal find to date.