American Golden Plover on the airfield

Found this cracking juvenile American Golden Plover this evening on the airfield where it showed very well in the fading light

  As Will Wagstaff had found a new Pectoral Sandpiper, the third this year, earlier at Porth Hellick Beach, I thought that maybe a new Buff-breasted Sandpiper might have arrived as well. At 18.I5 I was scanning a long ways down the south runway where I could see a large plover distantly. I needed to get closer but thought it's more than likely gona be just a Golden Plover. As not to flush it, I went through the heather out of sight in the blustery conditions, when the skies went dark from a heavy downpour . I was still a long ways from the plover getting soaked to the bone when Robin Mawer called. While talking, I lifted me bins and I said to Robin 'I think I've got a Yank Plover! I'll call you back' I looked up to see Mark Anderson also looking up at the plover from the turning circle end. I could clearly see it was juvenile American Golden Plover and tried to call him to say if he had got on it. I guessed he had because he started making his ways towards me. I put my thumb up to him with a weird smile as he approached me and said 'Ideal! Good in it?' He must of thought I was demented because he didn't have a clue what I was on about until I showed him the plover. 'Jellybeans!' was his reply. What? I guess that means he was happy to see it. I called Rocky Robin back and all the others but as there were squally showers with strong NW winds and fading light, except Robin, some decided to try for it tomorrow.
  Just before dark, the three of us got cracking views of the yank feeding on the edge of the runway before flying off high east out to sea. A few minutes later it returned and settled back down on the runway.

  The Semipalmated Sandpiper was seen by others at Porth Hellick and on St Agnes there were 3 Lapland Bunting and 7 Grey Phalarope flew past.

  Yesterday 6 Pink-footed Geese arrived at Tresco Great Pool and the day before there was a single Wood Sandpiper. 

The plover looking a bit sorry for itself wet in the downpour after crossing the Atlantic!

Juvenile American Golden Plover showing very well

I thought Mark was looking at the yank plover but obviously the airport lights were more interesting to him!

On the 9th Trevor and Julie called to tell me they had a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on the airfield. When the airport had shut, a few of us went up to look at it and re-located it on the edge of the runway opposite the windsock. For a Buff-breasted Sandpiper this was a pretty flighty individual never allowing close approach and this was the same when we had it a few days later on the golf course. 

A twenty minute seawatch off Church Point on the 10th could only produce good numbers of Gannet and a single Balearic Shearwater.

Obaro Ejimiwe (18 January 1983) is a British vocalist and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. His first album, Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam, was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize. His 2015 album, Shedding Skin was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.^[1] Forth album Dark Days + Canapés was released August 18th 2017.