Rye Harbour.

A change of scenery this morning with a trip to Rye Harbour for the Buff Breasted Sandpiper. A spur of the moment decision had myself,  Mike Gould and Steve Ashton setting off about 08.30.  Its a good hour drive from Canterbury via Ashford and across Romney Marsh,  a pleasant drive  taking in some of Kents lovely countryside before crossing in to East Sussex   .It was a very warm bright morning which encouraged lots of people out to make the most of the summer.  We made our way through the caravan park towards the scrapes where we had hoped the Sandpiper would be and on spotting a crowd ahead with scopes and binoculars we soon were enjoying close views .Photography was to be a challenge as the sun was in the wrong location, ( Late pm would be best.) so we decided to have a wander and see what else was about. We bumped into Mike Hook who joined us noting  Linnet, Wheatear, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and  Little Egret  as we made our way to one of the hides.  Not much from the hide and with the sun beating down it was decided that refreshments were needed.  After tea ( and ice creams ) we made our way back to the scrapes as a couple of hours had passed along with most people and we were able to position ourselves allowing a few photos. Also on the scrape were Curlew Sandpiper Ringed Plover and  Dunlin all coming close. its a shame that we were not here for the evening as i feel we would have nailed the photos.We didn't see many different species throughout our stay, spending nearly all our time with the Sandpipers but all in all a very enjoyable visit............... Photos 1 and 5 are Curlew Sandpiper 2-4 Buff  Breasted Sandpiper.