A distant shot in gale force and rainy conditions of this recent visitor to a nearby reserve, just over the border from the Peterborough Bird Club recording area. This Black-winged Stilt has been seen in a few places in the last week or so, Oxfordshire for a day, then Rutland Water for a day and then it flew to a little reserve in Lincolnshire called Willow Tree Fen for a period of 5 days where I managed to catch up with it before it moved on to Frampton Marsh on the Wash where it has been present for the past couple of days.
The Black-winged Stilt is an annual, but rare visitor to Britain, with a few breeding attempts and a long-staying individual staying at Titchwell in Norfolk for a number of years (just `Google` Sammy the Stilt + Titchwell and you will see this individual). An extremely long-legged wader with red legs, a white and black body and long, straight delicate bill. Quite unmistakeable when seen properly.
This is the second individual I have seen in this country, the first being in the PBC area a few years ago at Maxey GP, it`s just a shame this bird flew over our area and decided to drop in just 1km over the border. For this reason I can`t add it to my year list!
