Little Stint

Cowbit Wash continues to produce the goods. As well as a second Temminck's Stint on 18 May (there was also one on 15th) and a pristine, brick-red Curlew Sandpiper (which I sadly missed), this lovely breeding-plumaged Little Stint gave some excellent views. This trio of calidrids is typically very scarce in the Peterborough area and by no means guaranteed each year, so to have all three show up on the same day is testament to the quality of the habitat at Cowbit.

Little Stint and Dunlin, Cowbit Wash, 18 May 2024

Cowbit is currently full of breeding birds and so it is not responsible to try and get close to passage waders here in most situations, with the majority of individuals feeding close to nests of sensitive species. So, it was a happy break from the norm when the Little Stint moved to a small flood well away from the breeding birds and allowed for a safe approach. I was very pleased with this photo opportunity; I suspect I might not get anything as good of a spring Little Stint again locally.

Little Stint, Cowbit Wash, 18 May 2024

It's also important to pay tribute to the humble Dunlin! After a peak of almost 200 birds in early May, numbers rapidly dropped off towards the middle of the month with day maxima of 20-30 individuals (but often no more than a handful).

Dunlin, Cowbit Wash, 18 May 2024