Least Sandpiper - Steart Marshes
Dreadful behaviour from visitors to the lovely WWT Steart Reserve. A recent comment from the team on Social media.
“Toilets are available in our main car park!
Sadly we have had several incidents of human faeces and toilet paper left on the reserve. THIS IS A HEALTH HAZARD to staff, volunteers and visitors!!!!
The Least Sandpiper was showing well yesterday around midday and the Black Swans still in the same field.
From Wall Common looking into Bridgwater Bay 12 Brent Geese.
The Least Sand showed very well yesterday late am with its Little Stint companion. Also the somewhat surreal sight of six Black Swans together in a field south of the road between the two car parks!
It showed really well mid/late morning today but boy was it hard to really get the leg colour. One Little Stint too and actually, its legs always looked nothing but jet black.
Of interest maybe: The Least Sandpiper & companion Little Stint, plus other Somerset Birds, can be seen on my latest YouTube video link below…
Least Sandpiper showing distantly with probably 3 Little Stint but mobile amidst the Lapwing panic! A surprise turned up in the shape of a Grey Phalarope which performed well from Quantock Hide.
There’s actually a fourth youngster out there that seems to have gone out on its own (reportedly arrived as 6 - looking at Devon birds they might have bred in topsham on the dart - 5 cygnets originally - but were at exminster in September and start of December)
Least Sandpiper still showing, albeit rather distantly from west side of Quantock View Hide at around 12PM.
Was very surprised to see a group of 5 Black Swans feeding on the marsh half way between the Polden View Screen and Steart Gate Car Park. Mike Moxon suggested they may have been the Black Swan pair with 3 youngsters that bred near Exeter last summer.
Seen at 11:00 today, flew off shortly afterwards and not re-found by 12:00
Least Sandpiper & Little Stint showing well this afternoon Before disappearing to the back of the marsh ! the light was also dropping A big bonus was a fly over of a beautiful male hen harrier!
My 2-minute video on X (Twitter) of this rapidly feeeding small wader, with its Little Stint partner, can be seen by clicking on the link below
There are better photos by Clive Dinsey on rare birds of Britain and Ireland FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HKEooGSgQ/
plus Nick Wall’s (media) videos on bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/nickwall.bsky.social
Apparently it was on Otterhampton Marsh viewed from the Quantock View Hides, also a Lttle Stint there.
From Social Media, a Least Sandpiper was found at Steart Marshes today.
There is a photo on Twitter per L Rice.