Spoilt for waders

The end of August and opening days of September produced one of the richest spells for passage waders on my patch for the past few years at least, with a couple of Curlew Sandpipers lingering for nine days, accompanied at times by Knot, Ruff, Wood, Common and Green Sandpipers, Dunlin, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, and Spotted Redshank. The best part about it all was that most birds showed pretty well, especially the calidrids, giving some brilliant photo opportunities at times.

Adult Spotted Redshank, 30 August. Another adult was briefly present on 2 September.

Numerous juvenile Ruff passed through during this period ...

... these included leg-flagged 'ALJ' on 2 September

This lovely Wood Sandpiper arrived on 31 August and lingered for eight days. Lower pic with juv Curlew Sandpiper.

This adult Knot spent the morning with the 'flock' on 2 September. It appeared to have a damaged left eye.

I took literally hundreds of images of these two Curlew Sandpipers, which showed superbly well and will go down as a clear highlight of the patch year. They arrived on 1 September and were daily fixtures until 9th.

A few juvenile Little Ringed Plovers lingered into early September and were typically fearless.