American birds on holiday in Dorset

[Donna]

 A RARE bird from North America was spotted for the first time in Weymouth at the RSPB Lodmoor reserve.

The Semipalmated Sand-piper caught the eye of many bird watchers when it dropped into the reserve.

This is the first time the bird has been spotted in Weymouth and the fourth time one of its kind has been spotted in Dorset – the last recorded sighting being in Ferrybridge in 2002.

Luke Phillips, information officer at the reserve, said: “It’s not very often that a completely new bird species is recorded at Weymouth Wetlands so this was very exciting, but it did cause a few headaches trying to identify it.

“At first, it was thought to be a similar looking wader called a Little Stint, which is an occasional visitor to Lodmoor during the autumn. But it was later re-identified as the much rarer Semipalmated Sandpiper.�

The bird is a native of North America and Canada and the world semipalmated refers to the bird’s toes – in this case it means half-webbed or slightly lobed which helps the bird to walk across mud when feeding.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper migrate vast distances and spend the winters in South America but occasionally they get lost and end up in the UK.

Mr Phillips said: “It may still be the height of summer to us but many birds are gearing up for their autumn migration and as the sandpiper shows, some of them have already started their journeys.�

Dorset has welcomed some unusual visitors over the past few years. This is the second year running that marsh harriers – which are rarer than golden eagles – have bred in the centre of Weymouth.

An albino starling was spotted flying over Weymouth’s rooftops in July, which according to bird experts is very unusual and a rare hooded merganser duck arrived on Radipole Lake two years ago.

A franklin’s gull, a native of North America, also showed up at Radipole in April 2004. The bird was blown across the Atlantic and attracted twitchers from as far afield as Leeds.

[MAK]

These guys are cute! Thanks Donna!