Sunday March 20 - A tricky one

 Its not often I'm confronted with a bird I'm struggling to identify, but that's what happened today.

The morning began at Morton Bagot in bright sunshine with a very light easterly blowing. Dave joined me and we started our usual circuit with just a little more optimism than last week. Several Chiffchaffs were singing, but try as we might, we couldn't add a Wheatear to the list.

Chiffchaff

Reed Bunting

As we approached the flash field I got a text from John Chidwick. He had seen a pair of Avocets here yesterday. Within a few minutes, so had we.

One of the Avocets

As usual the two birds kept well apart, so you'll have to take it from me there were two of them. The furthest flash hosted five Shovelers (four males), 16 Teal, a Lapwing, a Little Egret, and a Shelduck (with two more on the nearest flash).

So far, so not at all tricky. That all started when Dave noticed a flock of about 100 dots (like a moving mist) miles away towards Studley. They were Golden Plovers, and we later got a much better view as 23 Goldies flew west, right over our heads. My camera was tucked away in my bag at the time, and perhaps it was this that made me resolve to check out the large field at Middletown on the way home.

I arrived to find a flock of at least 44 Golden Plovers in the centre of the field. The camera came out and I took a few shots. Scanning with the scope I found a few smaller groups, and one of these contained a very interesting looking bird. It looked worryingly like an American Golden Plover. But these things can be tricky, particularly if the bird is asleep, miles away, and partly obscured by lumps of mud and Golden Plovers.

The one in the middle

What should I do? I considered flushing it, but there seemed every chance it would just fly off without allowing a view of its underwing, leaving me none the wiser.

I went home, sent some tweets, and mulled over it. Eventually, I could stand it no longer and I went back.

This time the light was harsher, and the group of three birds were not where I'd left them. Eventually I located what I think might have been the original bird. I tried stalking it, but was overcome with guilt at entering the field, and was finding it impossible to even see the bird with binoculars. I could only see it in the scope, and I have to admit that in different light the whiteness of the supercilium was lost.

Just a dull, tatty Golden Plover?

My only shot of it awake

On one occasion some Golden Plovers flew over, but the bird didn't budge. 

All very tricky, and just a bit vexing. If anyone's read Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book (and if you haven't, I recommend you do) there is a chapter entitled Brightening up a dull day. Perhaps that's all I was doing.

The field, if anyone's interested, is on the west side of the road between Studley at the Jubilee Pub and  Middletown.