Spotted Sandpiper,Holme Pierrepoint,Nottinghamshire,Sunday 18th Feb. 2018.

After not posting for what seems like ages,due to a few health problems,well iam getting on a bit now,i have eventually got around to posting my account of  visiting the superb 1st calendar year Spotted Sandpiper which was residing nicely in its Nottinghamshire riverside home,before the 'Beast From The East' hit.
 As it was only 65 miles from home and the fact i had never seen a 1st winter bird before,only adults,i made the relatively quick journey to the national watersports centre at Holme Pierrepoint alongside the River Trent.
 My target as mentioned above was the wintering Spotted Sandpiper and after getting the scope and camera together it wasn't long before i was watching this cracking little bird.
 At first it was a bit shy,but with patience and when people acted sensibly the bird showed impeccably,usually when there was only a few of us patiently waiting for it to come nearer for some photos.While it was further away,it gave me a great chance to study the subtle features of a 1st winter,with the plain tertials,yellowish legs,more distinct 'super',pale bill with a dark tip and shorter tail than Common sand.
 The bird spent a great period of time just feeding casually along the grass banks of the canoe slalom giving some really good relaxed viewing being disturbed a couple of times by clueless birders,who appeared on the birds skyline and promptly flushed it,but all in all i couldn't complain with my views and a few half decent shots also making for a very worthwhile trip.
 On the way back to the car,a bonus 1st winter drake Long-tailed Duck was really nice to see near the rowing course finish line,a fine way to end the visit,unfortunately too far for my camera.
 I travelled back north towards Lincoln contented in my day out in Nott's for a change.

The Spotted Sandpipers temporary home.