This Green Sandpiper was present the other day on a stretch of water that is known locally as the Maxey cut, a small river close to the reserve of Maxey gravel pits.
The river is extremely low at the moment and the Environment Agency have been removing the larger fish from the river in order to put them in the River Welland which still has fairly healthy water levels. With the drought that most of England is experiencing at the moment I can only see this situation getting worse.
Back to the bird. The Green Sandpiper does not breed in Britain, but is found in the country during migration, with a small population of between 500-1,000 overwintering here. Unusually, for a wader it nests in trees, typically in old Woodpigeon and Thrush nests.
A fairly regular sight in the PBC area, with Maxey being a traditional site for them.
