Rare bird spotted at Upton Warren

First published Sunday 21 September 2014 in Newsby Alex Townley

THERE have been sightings of a rare migrant bird at the Upton Warren Nature Reserve.

The bird, a Temminck’s stint, usually breeds in the Arctic, and passes through the UK on its way to breeding grounds in Africa and Asia in the winter, but the sighting is unusual.

John Belsey, a volunteer at Upton Warren, explained: “These tiny birds are incredible – each spring and summer they migrate between Africa and parts of southeast Asia and their breeding grounds in the Arctic, Russia and Scandinavia.

“While there’s the possibility of them visiting somewhere like Upton Warren on both parts of that migration, it’s actually really rare for them to stop off inland on their autumn journey. Of the 24 birds that have dropped in since 1965, only two have been at this time of year.

“As with all waders, they are adept at finding insects and other small invertebrates in mud. The Flashes pools at Upton Warren are perfect for this – they consist of a series of shallow pools with lots of muddy edges.”

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