The pectoral sandpiper was still being reported at Belvide Reservoir, a members-only reserve managed by the West Midlands Bird Club, located northwest of Birmingham and near Wolverhampton. Kev and I have been members for the last couple of years but have only been once before and given that there was a lesser scaup there too, it made sense to give it a whirl.
We arrived at the gate, entered the code into the lock, and parked among nearly 15 to 20 cars already there. A fellow birder mentioned that today was the West Midlands "AllDayer" — funnily enough, it had been the same event when we visited last year. A total of 28 teams took part in today’s #westmidsalldayer. Some impressive counts were recorded, and a total of 145 species logged across all participating sites. Blithfield alone recorded 104 species, while Belvide noted 98.
We walked down to the water's edge and spotted about 10 birders along the dam wall, split into three groups, all scanning with scopes. An update on Birdguides mentioned the lesser scaup had been seen in the bay ahead of us, so we searched through the birds on the water but had no luck. Deciding to join the birders on the dam, we figured we’d spot the scaup before going after the pectoral sandpiper, which hadn’t been updated yet.
The first group told us the scaup was further along, so we moved on to the second group, who said it was still farther ahead. We stopped to chat, and they mentioned they had already seen the pectoral sandpiper from where we were, though it was a tiny bird and very distant. One of the birders took it upon himself to scan in front of Chappell Hide, and after about five minutes, he announced he had it in his scope. I looked — tick! Kev thought he had it too but then realised he’d been watching a teal. By then, the bird had disappeared.
At this point our helpful birder located the lesser scaup that had worked its way closer to us and pointed it out. I took a few photos and Kev a video.
The lesser scaup is a North American diving duck that occasionally appears as a rare vagrant in the UK, typically during the autumn and winter months. While sightings are uncommon, they have become more frequent in recent years, especially in western parts of the UK, and can often be found in freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and gravel pits, where they may associate with other diving ducks, such as tufted ducks and pochards. Lesser scaup have several distinctive features that set them apart from similar species like the greater scaup. Their head is rounded with a noticeable blackish-purple iridescence, and the shape is slightly more peaked at the rear, giving it a more angular appearance than the greater scaup. The bill is bluish grey with a small black tip, while the body features a black chest and rump, contrasted by pale grey sides. Their back is finely barred with black and white, creating a "scaly" look. The eyes are bright yellow, making them stand out.
We headed toward the Chappell Hide and along the way came across some ringers retrieving birds from their mist nets. While the species weren't anything unusual, they could still add to the totals for the Alldayer. When we reached the hide, we found our helpful birder from earlier inside. He had the pectoral sandpiper in view, and this time we got a proper look. It spent the entire time feeding among the black-headed gulls while we watched.
Just then we received a message from our friends Adrian Sparrowhawk @sparra1959 and Bryan Manston @BryanManston who were on their way, and we confirmed the bird was still visible. They had joined the Club a couple of weeks earlier to see the lesser scaup, and now they’d get to add the pectoral sandpiper to their list as well.
We met Adrian and Bryan along the road as they arrived on site. We’d all planned to visit Morton Bagot as a black restart (female type) has been showing there for a few days and we departed, expecting to be seeing them again later.
As we chatted, Kev said that the only other thing he'd thought about for today was the Sabine's gull down in Somerset but that as we'd both had them there wasn't a strong need, although it was a cracking looking bird. When I mentioned that I'd never actually seen a Sabine's gull, the Satnav was reprogrammed and we were off to Burnham-on-Sea, stopping for lunch on the way.
The Sabine's is a rare but highly sought-after bird in the UK, mainly seen during migration in the late summer and autumn from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to the southern oceans for winter. It is a small, striking gull with a distinctive appearance, often found in coastal areas, especially along the western coasts of Britain - this one is a juvenile which I think in many ways is more attractive than the adult. The head is pale greyish-brown, unlike the bold black or white head of the adults and they have distinctive wing pattern with a black triangle on the outer wing; though the overall colours are more muted than in adults. Like the adults, the bill is slender and black, though juveniles typically lack the yellow tip.
We arrived at Burnham-on-Sea and quickly realised we couldn't access the viewpoint from where we'd parked. So, we had to drive a couple of miles around the town to reach Highbridge, where you cross the river and walk out to the pools where the bird had been regularly seen for the past week. It was a bit of a yomp but the birders coming the other way all confirmed that the gull was there and showing "well".
We reached the last group of birders, only to learn that the bird had flown just five minutes before our arrival and had since been lost — no one was sure which direction it had gone. We scanned the area but found no sign of it. Three birders left to move their car, leaving just the three of us behind.
Kev kept scanning with his scope while I headed back to some pools where the bird had been known to stop for a wash. Along the track, I flushed out a few wheatears, counting four in total. But when I reached the pools, all I could find was a little egret and a common sandpiper.
I returned to join Kev and the other birder, but they still hadn’t located the bird. As I scanned the grasses to our right, I spotted what I initially thought was a curlew flying away, but something seemed off. It landed, and I realized it was a peregrine falcon. I called out to the others, and we watched as the falcon took off, flying out over the water before circling back at high speed over the grass, disappearing briefly into one of the gullies. Less than thirty seconds later, it rose into the air, now chasing a bird. To my surprise, the falcon's prey was our Sabine’s gull!
The next few minutes were exhilarating—a thrilling chase unfolded as the peregrine pursued the gull, and at times, the gull turned to chase the peregrine in return. It was a real aerial dogfight, but Kev was convinced the peregrine was just practicing rather than making a serious attempt at a kill. Unfortunately, I coudn't manage to get both birds in the same frame.
Then the Sabine's disappeared off in the direction of Brean and was lost to view. What a spectical.
That might be the only view we'd have but we were glad to have seen some action rather than just the bird on the ground - and it had evaded capture.
We took a moment to recover and enjoyed some coffee while waiting to see if the bird might return. After about ten minutes, I spotted it dropping into a muddy pool around 75 meters away. It was a bit disappointing that it didn’t land in the shallow pool just to our left, where we;d heard it had shown incredibly well before, but we couldn’t really complain. Our companion left, and when the other three birders returned, we pointed out the bird to them before heading off. Another lifer iticked, and an outstanding individual at that! Thanks to Kev for the change of tack.
