It rained steadily for most of the day but this did not prevent it from being, perhaps, the best day of the autumn so far. The bird of the day was a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope found by Roger Lawrence on the east flood at 9.08 am. There were no other birders in the vicinity at the time and Roger had to leave. However, he posted the sighting on the KOS database and, at about 2 pm, Julian Russell saw this posting and headed down to the flood. On arrival,  he found that Jonathan Boyce Leigh was already watching the bird and, as the news spread, there was a steady trickle of birders arriving to see it, including myself. This was the first seen here for three years and, personally, the seventh I have seen at this site. The supporting cast included the Bonaparte’s Gull and the Long-billed Dowitcher  and other waders included several Little Ringed Plovers, a Little Stint and a Curlew Sandpiper and two Spotted Redshanks. Terns were on the move and included some Arctic Terns and Black Terns whilst a juvenile Little Gull graced the east flood briefly. To end the day, Mike Buckland found a Purple Sandpiper, a rarer occurrence here than the Phalarope, which settled amongst the Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. This was my second for the site. The previous one being ten years earlier and also unseasonally in August. This has brought the total number of wader species seen so far this year to 29.
Geoff Burton

Bonaparte’s-Gull (left) Dowitcher and Phalarope / Geoff Burton