A Red-neck in Northumbelrand? Probably not in the same context as a red-neck in the deep south of America and this particular red-neck probably originated much further north and east in the arctic tundras of N America and Russia. Red-necked Stints are very rare birds in the UK & Ireland with 12 records up to the latest record in 2011. Of those only two stayed long enough to twitch in the UK and I was away for both of them (I don't twitch Ireland).
Records courtesy of Rare Bird Alert.
News broke Saturday evening of an adult bird on the Blyth Estuary in Northumberland. With a family BBQ planned the next day I couldn't go on Sunday and having already started my 2nd gin and tonic there was no way I could drive Saturday evening - even if i could have got there before dark. I made plans to go Monday after an early morning appointment on positive news the bird was still there.
Sundays BBQ was enjoyable and it was nice to have most of the family all together again after over a year of restrictions. News that the Red-necked Stint was showing well most of the day had me worrying that it might not stick until Monday but there was nothing I could do about it!
Thankfully the bird was still present Monday morning and the news came through early enough for me to pac the car before my appointment at 7 am!
A few hours later I was parking up and following the instructions given as to where to watch the bird. Unfortunately from the south side of the estuary it was always distant but those who managed to find away across to the north side of the estuary had superb views. From what I could see on the map on the phone the only access was via a private drive and I didn't have time to try and find somewhere to park up and walk round to the other side so contented myself with the views I got and a few record shots.
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| Un-cropped photo showing how small the Red-necked Stint looked from a distance. It was easier to see when it was standing in the water and once it was on the gravel it virtually disappeared! |
There was also a Little Stint present which made nice comparison with the Red-necked Stints body shape being more reminiscent of a Baird's Sandpiper being relatively longer bodied and shorter legged. All in all a nice day out and I'm glad the bird hung around for an extra day.
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