Showy stint delights the masses in Northumberland

A stunning summer-plumaged Red-necked Stint touched down on the Blyth Estuary for three days from 5 June, making a strong claim for bird of the spring.

IT’S been a long, 20-year wait for another twitchable Red-necked Stint in Britain. A brief bird at Ferrybridge, Dorset, in 2010 had gone before it was identified, while two tantalised in Ireland in 2007 and 2011. So, when

one was found among a small Ringed Plover flock at Blyth Estuary, Northumberland, the British birding scene went into overdrive. A bird of late July and early August in a British and Irish context, this is the first June record, and it looked resplendent

in its breeding regalia and showed at close quarters to plenty. This story broke as Birdwatch went to press, so keep an eye on BirdGuides. com, where the exclusive finder’s account will be published in due course. ■