Purple in the rain

The extensive flooding at Cowbit Wash has persisted into the spring and the pumping of remnant floodwater has been postponed while Avocets and other Schedule 1 breeding birds raise young on the site. By late April, Dunlin numbers had begun to build up again after a rapid drop-off in the huge wintering flock during March and early April.

Anticipation was high among local birders of a rare wader at the time and although a nationally scarce/rare species didn't come, the Purple Sandpiper that dropped in during abject conditions on 28th was a local tick for pretty much everyone who came to see it, with only historical records in the Peterborough recording area. When I first picked this bird up in flight, I assumed it was going to be a Turnstone, but then it landed and looked like a large, dark and portly Dunlin at extreme distance and through the rain. Eventually it came a bit closer and the ID was confirmed.

Purple Sandpiper (second from right) with Dunlin at Cowbit Wash, 28 April 2024

​Later that day, I was treated to some stunning views of the bird, which was typically fearless. It was truly surreal to see this species frequenting a grassy field margin in the middle of the Lincolnshire fens.

Purple Sandpiper, Cowbit Wash, 28 April 2024