Waders pause for breath on flight North

Three of these diminutive sparrow-sized waders were seen at Beacon Ponds and the Watton Nature reserve in East Yorkshire and others at Swillington Ings, Leeds, the North Cave Wetlands, a regular site for them, and two at Port Clarence on Teesside.

Temminck's stints are rather drab in appearance and resemble a tiny version of the common sandpiper. They are a similar size to the little stint although they have shorter legs and longer wings.

They winter around the Mediterranean and as far south as Nigeria and Kenya and are at the western edge of their migration route in Britain.

They breed as far south as southern Scandinavia and occasionally in northern Scotland where breeding was first confirmed in 1934.

As many as 10 pairs have bred in some years in the late 1970s but numbers have fallen since then with the last confirmed breeding in 1993.

On passage the Temminck's stint is an unobtrusive bird with a crouching mouse-like posture but on breeding territories becomes much more extrovert with a loud trilling call and a moth-like display flight.

They also have a complicated love life. The female will mate with a first male who will then incubate the clutch of four eggs leaving her free to establish a second territory and mate again. Her second clutch she incubates herself while her first mate may choose a second incoming female who lays and incubates her second clutch on his territory while he continues to care for his first brood.

Another rare wader, a broad-billed sandpiper spent much of Sunday at the Old Moor reserve near Barnsley before flying off in the evening while a turnstone was also present and nearby seven sanderlings were at Wombwell Ings.

Nine sanderlings, a large number for an inland site, were at Swillington Ings, Leeds, while four sanderlings, a knot, a greenshank and three grey plovers were at Hatfield Moor, South Yorkshire.

Along the Yorkshire coast seawatchers at Flamborough Head had a five minute sighting of a black-browed albatross lingering off the Fog Station on Wednesday morning before it drifted back out to sea.

A red-backed shrike was seen at Bempton Cliffs, and three bee-eaters at Flamborough Head, while an Icterine warbler was trapped and ringed at Spurn. Other birds seen in the Spurn area included a male golden oriole, bluethroat, red-backed shrike and red-rumped swallow while two red-backed shrikes were seen inland, a female at North Duffield Carrs and a male at Carlton.

A male Montagu's harrier has been seen at Ringinglow Bog, South Yorkshire and an immature bird with wing tags at Hatfield Moors.

The RSPB is appealing for any sightings of hen harriers in England to be reported to them with a date, location and if possible a six-figure grid reference, as they try to discover how many are left. A hotline has been set up on 0845 4600121 or e-mail [email protected].

A common crane was seen over Flamborough and Buckton and two over the Potteric Carr reserve near Doncaster where Yorkshire's first twitchable Iberian chiffchaff continues to sing and attract a steady stream of visitors.

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CW 29/5/10