Released early from work meetings I found I had time to drop in early to North Gare Sands, Teesmouth. Last month I had been unable to locate any twite on my visit and so was keen to give it another go. I walked across the beach to the water's edge to see what might be out on the sea and immediately found small rafts of common scoter, a further small flock flying in to join them. Scanning through the birds there didn't appear to be anything else amongst them.
I walked south along the water's edge and tried to pick out something of note, seeing only a handful of great-crested grebes, a female red-breasted merganser, and very distant shag and red-throated divers. A few redshanks and turnstones flushed along the beach in front of me. I tried to give them space, but they were not for being in my space.
Turning at the end by the rocks a redshank dropped in and watched as I approached - less flighty than the others. It walked across the sand to the edge of the river where at least 42 knot were feeding amongst oystercatchers, redshank and a couple of dunlins.
I reached the corner of the beach where it is bordered by the fence separating the power station and fields from the dunes and sand, overlooking the river. This is apparently a good place to see twite. The twite is a small, brown finch with a yellow bill and pink rump is very much a bird of coastal fringes. The twite has a northerly breeding distribution in Britain & Ireland, and is often referred to as the ‘Linnet of the north’. It seeks out small seeds that can gather on the tideline of saltmarshes and dunes.
The twite has been red-listed in the UK since 1996 due to a reduction in its breeding population. Its small breeding population is supplemented in winter by birds arriving from elsewhere in Europe.
Out on the river I could see a red-necked grebe and a red-throated diver fishing, and a pair of red-breasted mergansers preening and then sleeping as they drifted out along the river.
I waited for a while before a flock of circa 120 twite flew in and landed by a large puddle in the field beyond the fence. I raised my bins and had a good look before going for my camera. Even before I could raise it, the twite were up and off - they swung out across the water - they would come back in, wouldn't they!?? They set off along the river to the dunes beyond and then crossed the river, dropping onto the far bank - too small to see from where I stood. Damn. A retired teacher and birder arrived, and we chatted as we waited for the twite to return - they didn't.
Eventually it was time I made tracks - I still had work to do back at the office and a 4-hour journey to get there. A year tick for the twite but disappointing not to have had a chance at a proper photo.
Year List: 276
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