Garganey, West Bexington, Dorset - 24 Mar 17

I popped over to West Bexington late morning following the report from Mike M. @Bexbirder that a drake Garganey had been seen on the Mere. After 5 minutes walking westwards from the car park I had a decent view of the mere and quickly found the bird on the north shore. Always distant, I managed a few record shots of this beautiful spring migrant drake Garganey. About the size of a Teal, Garganey are relatively small ducks which appear in small numbers regularly at this time of the year. I didn't manage to get a shot of the bird with Teal but the first photo shows its comparative size with the much larger Shoveler in the foreground:

Garganey: a very handsome scarce spring migrant ... 

 ... showing unmistakable crescent above each eye and drooped back feathers.

Charmouth - Fri 10th March - Dunlin, an early site record

A winter plumage Dunlin which paid a visit to a fog-bound Charmouth river this morning:

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This record is a very early date for the site and is the first Dunlin I've seen on the river. They are by no means common here. My previous sightings have been small flocks at the low-water mark on the beach and much later in the year (May).

It was quite content feeding in the soft mud at the waters edge, 20 metres upstream from the footbridge quite unconcerned by passing walkers, even spending some time preening and roosting.

This individual has a long bill tapering to a downcurved tip and dark legs, white beneath and in the overcast/foggy conditions appeared grey brown but with small areas of browner tones visible around the crown and neck. The bird was not heard to call and I didn't see it arrive or depart so did not see it in flight. I believe alpina race birds have the longer bill length but there is much overlap. Amazing to think that in a few weeks this bird could have travelled NW up along the shorelines of Scandinavia, Northern Europe or even as far as Siberia.