The first 'Yank' arrives on the south coast.

Tuesday 9th July 2024.

The Long-billed Dowitcher at Normandy Marshes today. Photo by Rob Porter.

More damn rain today and though it was doing my garden some good, it's not much fun working in it. However, it doesn't stop the hardiest and determined birders to grab another superb ‘year-tick’, especially when a ‘Yank’ wader shows up. A stunning Long-billed Dowitcher in summer plumage was found on Normandy Marshes yesterday briefly and though it flew off after a few hours or so, it returned again this morning. Could it hang on to the weekend? Thankfully, it showed well for those who made the journey there in the rain and some excellent photos were obtained.

The Long-billed Dowitcher in flight. Photo by Rob Porter.

The last two days at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, have produced a reasonable number of bird species; with 16 species seen yesterday and 15 species today. Pick of the bunch was the male Great Spotted Woodpecker seen today flitting from tree to tree along the road. I could hear it call several times and was seen both in the morning and afternoon. They are a scarce species around this end of Portsmouth, though I do hear it ‘drum’ during the Spring not far from Pembroke Road. Two days running, I have seen the usual three species of Gull (Mediterranean, Black-headed, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull) and a pair of Swifts were seen both yesterday and today.  

Another photo of the Dowitcher with a Redshank on Normandy Marshes. Photo by Rob Porter.

Going back to the Dowitcher, Geoff Farwell and myself were only discussing the return passage of waders in July and it is now that the first of the ‘Yank’ species arrive and low and behold, a Long-billed Dowitcher arrives! Returning waders today included a staggering 16 Common Sandpipers at Lower Test Marshes!

Some excellent film footage of the Long-billed Dowitcher on Normandy Marshes. Film footage by Dave Laycock.