Greater Yellowlegs, Titchfield Haven 19th May 2015

Photo: courtesy Dave Carr @birdphotos007

After having dipped on Sardinian Warbler at Land's End the previous day & stayed overnight with an old friend near Exeter in Devon, news of the presence again of the Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven NNR in Hampshire the following morning had me traveling cross-country. I arrived on site mid-afternoon.

This very rare American vagrant had been seen on & off for several months sometimes disappearing for weeks & months at a time. The latest sighting was from the coastal approach road to the reserve, just a few hundred yards west of the Visitor Centre, but not since the morning. Having teamed up with another birder on site, who just happened to be walking past as I emerged from the car & who had already been to a number of hides, we covered the remaining hides & then checked out Posbrook Floods to the north of the reserve. All to no avail! This was the first time I'd visited Titchfield Haven & was very impressed with the reserve & surrounds. One thing I really enjoyed was hearing several Cetti's Warblers & having really good views of one bird in the open for a few minutes, which is prolonged for a Cetti's (part of their charm).

We made our way back to the reserve & managed to briefly check a couple of hides before the reserve closed at 5pm. I wandered back along the coast road as far as the river, chatting with several birders along the way. As I returned I recognised a birder I had spoken to previously who had seen the bird earlier. I asked him where exactly the bird had been. We crossed the road to the fence & while he was explaining where he'd seen it earlier a small flock of several Black-tailed Godwits flew in. As I started to scan the flock a shout went up, "It's there! On the right of the flock". It was immediately latched onto by everyone. I hadn't noticed, but there were now several birders next to us. The flock wheeled about the coastal pool several times before opting for an area within the reserve, which was now closed. Pretty good flight views, but most present wanted more.

Everyone spread out along the coast road to try & see if it was possible to view the pools on the reserve, but it wasn't possible. I headed back from the viewing platform towards the coastal pool which now had exposed mud as the tide receded. There was a small flock of Black-tailed Godwits feeding. Another small flock flew in & just as I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if..." the Greater Yellowlegs touched down. We were then treated to excellent, prolonged views as it wandered about the mud below us, at one point coming very close to the near bank.

In retrospect, perhaps it seems the Godwit flock were checking out a favoured feeding area in the coastal pool, which wasn't quite ready, so they hung out on a different pool for a while. Most of the Godwits were feeding very close together in an apparently rich, small area of the pool.

Photo: courtesy Dave Carr @birdphotos007