UKH

Can’t beat a bird quiz on these blustery, thundery, wet and windy and chilly evenings. 

Maybe …

1. Curlew Sandpiper x 2, Dunlin, Ruff.

2. Little Egret, Common Redshank x 3, Spotted Redshank.

3. Curlew Sandpiper x 2, Ruff x 2, Black tailed Godwit.

Gold star for you!  100%. Got cracking views of curlew sandpipers. At marshside rspb. I was stood on a banking, which is a public footpath.  But a wire fence keeps folk at distance which I guess the birds know and so gain confidence?  Pity I didn’t manage.a  photo of the American golden plover,gave good but distant views the other weekend. 

Nice photos. I’ve yet to see Curlew Sandpipers for real, but was reading about them recently in hopeful anticipation that I might find one migrating through my area. Need to get out looking though!

I do think various species can assess risk and adapt their behaviour if they feel safe due to distance, etc.

Better than me, in no 1 I was veering for 3rd Curlew Sandpiper rather than Dunlin, and in no 2 I hadn't spotted that one of the Redshank was Spotted in winter plumage (bottom right I presume but it's hardly obvious, longer bill and not much difference in plumage).

Everything else I got but that's not 100% - only silver star for me ☹

BC - I presume you mean from the footpath at the back of Marshside, can't get there before Friday (possibly, otherwise it'll be another 3 weeks), maybe they'll still be around. Curlew Sandpiper is not one I've seen before either.

I think my ideal Marshside list to fill in some gaps would be; Hen Harrier (F), Merlin (M), Bewick's Swan (too early?), Bean Goose (likewise?), Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank

Tundra bean seen last weekend. And yes, too early for those swans (it’s very early for the bean).  
‘Yes’ to the track. Far north east corner nr the waterworks. That part is called ‘Crossens Inner Marsh’, the other side of the road is Crossens Outer. You can park on a kinda dead end road just past the waterworks entrance.  

It was the head colouring that drew my attention, then bill length and the look of longer legs to maybe something other than a common. Lighter head colour could have been a trick of light I reckoned, and leg length maybe just catching the movement, but then I saw the spotted breast.

At first glance I had actually passed it over and assumed a common. I am learning though not to make ID assumptions on just a first glance. Sure I’ve missed so many birds by rushing ID; part of the reason I “need” photos to study later!

Totally missed that, definite demerit for me. Not so much spotted, more the last remnants of summer plumage, and as soon as you notice that, it's obviously different to the commons which are nicely there to compare against.

Missing by rushing id is at at least not frustrating - unless someone then comes along and says "did you see the XXX before it flew off".

Unlike the "not good enough view as it flies off", had a possible Red Kite in Prestwich!!! but (walking home) was still 200m from home, so no bins. It was over to the side some distance away and up, just didn't have the jizz of a large gull (the only large bird that flies over here in early evening), was circling and then flew off, but I was never underneath enough to get good enough outline view of wings and (long) tail. And didn't feel right for a buzzard, which can be seen not far away. I'll never know but they're gradually coming - hopefully won't be too long before my daughter's not the only one in the family who can see kite from their garden.

I have of course seen kite from her garden but that's not the same 😁

Curlew sandpipers.