A few Mallards were on the water but no gulls present and just a Gt Spotted Woodpecker overhead dropping into the Lodge house new feeding station.
Late afternoon with carpet down,furniture back and Lynda a happy bunny it was head for Fly Flatts on a cloudy but calm, SE>3, afternoon.
Viewing was bad with the sun trying to break through throwing everything into silhouette and a heavy heat shimmer around the banking.
A check from the south bank produced 6 Dunlin, 3 Redshank, 2 Oystercatchers, 8 Common Sands, 4 Curlew in the waters edge and 8 Greylag geese plus 9 young.
Scoping across to the east bank found it crawling with Dunlin and Common Sandpipers plus a larger wader which was too bright for a Redshank but at the distance, and just getting a blurry image through the shimmer ,I guessed at Ruff.
A dash through the boatyard got me nearer but still an out of reasonable range view but near enough to id it as Greenshank through the scope.
It was up to Bertha now to try for some record shots though difficult as I had to use the scope to get the location then swop over to the camera for some shots, with this being repeated every time the bird moved. It threw me a bit how the bird moved from one spot to another so quickly until the mystery was solved when a second bird appeared in the frame.
Back at the south end where I could get a phone signal I was just starting to send it out on grapevine when DF rang from the top road saying he,d spotted a strange bird on the east bank but with no scope he couldnt make out what it was. Glad you got at least 1 of them Dave. As I was leaving the heavens opened and a final scope found the 2 in among the group of big gulls at the NW corner. This is my first ever Spring Greenshank with all my previous sightings being during August, September apart from a December bird at Fly Flatts in 2007.
A pleasing day today with 2 Greenshank at Fly Flatts BS
1 drake Garganey at Redcar Tarn , KM
Greenland Wheatear, Soil Hill AC
1 Whimbrel, Fly Flatts , DF , NCD.
BS