birdline : Message: STILT SANDPIPER in Northumberland

Micropalama himantopus, non-breeding plumage, Progresso in Yucatan/ Mexico

An adult Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), remains for its second day at Low Newton-by-the -Sea (Northumberland) on the scrape between the village and Newton Pool  (see: birdline : Message: STILT SANDPIPER in Northumberland). There it can be viewed from the footpath at NU 241 243. Please park in the village car park rather than on the adjacent road. This an interesting message for someone from the continent who is birding in Scotland (as I did last year) right now. The location in the northern part of England, close to the border to Scotland, is just 82 miles – or some 2 hours – drive from Edinburgh. If you are planning a visit to the excellent FarneIslands with its 65,000 pairs in 14 species of seabirds, it is just a further drive of roughly 7 miles (or 15 minutes) away.  As far as I can see, an even better twitch for a continental european as for a british birder. The last twitch I could find of a Stilt Sandpiper in Germany was from Strandsee Hohenfelde, Schleswig-Holstein, in July 2008. Good luck!

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