Purple Patch at Farmoor 3rd August 2021

Today I set myself the task of cleaning the Causeway Hide at Farmoor Reservoir and arrived at just after nine armed with a dustpan and various brushes. Walking along the causeway to the hide  there was but a lone Dunlin to generate anything other than a casual glance. After cleaning the hide I joined Phil for a coffee at the cafe, sitting in the pleasant late morning sunshine, the reservoir's waters replicating a millpond and chatting about this and that until I left at noon for my weekly voluntary work with MIND, the mental health charity.

Phil decided to walk around Farmoor Two the larger of the two basins and we went our separate ways.

After my volunteering I decided on an evening visit to the reservoir to see if any waders had set down on the causeway, as they are sometimes prone to do at this time of year. There were, needless to say, only the ever present Common Terns to greet me on the reservoir and the Dunlin from this morning had fled a reservoir that had become very busy with people making the most of the weather and out for a stroll or stopping for a coffee at the cafe. I shrugged off my disappointment at the lack of birds, resolving to make the best of it by walking up the causeway and then by way of a change back down again. The Grand Old Duke of York would have been proud. Such is birding at Farmoor.

When I was well up the causeway I was met by a Farmoor birding regular, who will, for the sake of harmony remain anonymous, and was told he had just identified a mystery wader as a Purple Sandpiper, the bird having been discovered by Phil on his earlier walk. I was informed it was now on the western edge of Farmoor Two although 'moving about quite a lot'.

A Purple Sandpiper is a major rarity at Farmoor although eighteen have been reported since Farmoor was constructed almost fifty years ago. This nineteenth record was however the first since May 2011, so it was going to attract a lot of attention but to my surprise I  was told that the record was not going to be publicised by the person I was talking to. Somewhat taken aback I pointed out that many people would like to see it but there was no change of mind. While very grateful for the information offered to me and to be given the chance to see the sandpiper it does seem so sad that such an attitude prevails amongst some at Farmoor, especially when those same persons are more than happy to take advantage of any good birds found by those of us who are willing to put out bird news.

Let us move on. 

In a state of high expectation I made my way to the western bank but could find no sign of the sandpiper. I sighed, noting the bank was heavily populated with fishermen and a good number of people intent on nothing more than strolling around the reservoir. Good for their state of well being maybe but hardly good for mine and definitely not conducive to a small wader remaining in one place for long.

I walked onwards and Phil called to tell me about the mystery wader he had found earlier. We chatted briefly about when and where he had found the Purple Sandpiper. Apparently he had found it in the southeast corner of Farmoor Two, about as far away as possible from where my current position was on the reservoir. Phil told me he hadn't a clue what the bird was but knew it definitely was not a Dunlin but being a non birder he could go no further with regard to identification and had sought help. I told him I had just met the person who identified his mystery wader and I was now trying to re-locate it but with little success.

Our call finished and I walked the western bank twice in case I had missed the bird but no, it was definitely not present.  So now I had the unwelcome prospect of walking the entire two mile circumference of Farmoor Two looking for the sandpiper. I walked on, regularly checking the concrete apron, leading down to the water's edge, that stretches around the reservoir but each time there was no sign of any wader or even a bird of any sort. This was looking like it was going to be a tedious process of elimination.The reasoning being, that if I walked the entire circumference of Farmoor Two but failed to find the bird I would have to then walk around Farmoor One and also up the causeway again.The circumstances and the information I had gleaned made me fairly certain the sandpiper was around somewhere. on the reservoir. All I had  to do was find it on a reservoir which is three miles in circumference. Not a pleasant prospect after a long and tiring day. 

By now I was on the longer stretch of bank that comprises the southern side of the reservoir. I passed the yacht club pontoon with just a few shabby eclipse Mallard, and the inevitable Black headed Gulls using it to while away the remains of the day.

My one big hope was the possibility the sandpiper might have gone back to where Phil had first found it. I was approaching that area and scanned the water's edge with my bins, looking for a small hunched shape, a lump that distorted the clean edge of the concrete where it met the water and would indicate a wader and in particular a Purple Sandpiper, but the concrete stretched away unsullied by any such distortion. A trout leaped out of the water and fell back with a startling splash leaving nothing but an expanding set of ripples on the mirror like surface. An unwelcome shock to my already strung out nerves.

I walked further, checking regularly with my bins. Please let it be here. I had by now walked a mile and a half and was at the southeast corner where two fishermen stood a hundred metres apart and equidistant between them was a small dark shape at the water's edge. This usually turns out to be a wagtail or lump of weed but I knew, I just knew this was the Purple Sandpiper. To be totally certain I checked with my bins and my heart jumped. Definitely not a Dunlin  but a superb Purple Sandpiper. I walked with some caution towards it but need not have worried as it was ludicrously confiding, hardly giving me a glance as I stood just feet away, watching it feed along the waterline.

I papped away merrily with my camera as the sandpiper shuffled in its unobtrusive way alongside the waterline, picking delicately at the weed and algae covering the concrete. It was in immaculate fresh plumage, indicating it was a juvenile. Judging by its complete lack of reaction to my presence it had probably never seen a human until its arrival here. 

The light of early evening was just about perfect but there was little to highlight in its dull, understated appearance, its upperparts greyish brown with neat white frnges imparting a distinct scaly appearance while its underparts were white, the breast and flanks variably streaked with lines of brown.The bill and legs had yet to show any strong colour but later the bill will acquire a yellow or orange base and the legs and feet will similarly become yellow or orange.

One of the fishermen, curious as to what I was up to asked me what the bird was that I was photographing so enthusiastically as it moved closer to his line hanging down into the water. I told him it was a Purple Sandpiper as he obligingly lifted his line clear so the sandpiper could carry on its halting progress without fear of getting entangled. For fifteen minutes I sat on the wall, occasionally adjusting my position as the diminutive wader crept along. Some Mute Swans were upending and feeding on the submerged weed in the shallows and one in particular showed more than a passing interest in the wader but not aggressively, more curious than antagonistic.

The wader however reacted to this and after yet more close scrutiny by the swan moved off at considerable speed, running away along the concrete edge with the swan casually swimming after the fleeing bird but then finding something else to attract its interest. We all settled down. 

I was aware the person who told me about the sandpiper wasn't going to publicise its presence and paused to consider what to do. I knew many local and probably out of county birders would be delighted to see this bird so the course of action was obvious. First I called Dave, a local birder colleague and informed him about the sandpiper. He left his home in nearby Oxford immediately and joined me twenty minutes later.We discussed putting the news out and as he had the facility on his phone to immediately publicise the bird's presence on the Oxon Birding Log that is what we did. The evening was drawing in but hopefully some local birders would be able to get to the reservoir before it closed for the night.

Bizzarely a juvenile Kittiwake flew in over our heads to join the slowly assembling gull roost. A welcome and totally unexpected bonus to what had become a very enjoyable evening.

We resumed watching the sandpiper and were dismayed to see it suddenly commence running at a frantic pace along the water's edge and then fly fast and low out over the reservoir. Its flight was in complete contrast to its sluggish behaviour just seconds earlier.We held our breath as it zoomed around, reaching the centre of the reservoir before turning and heading straight back towards us at a breakneck speed and re-settled  on the concrete edge a few metres away. It stood  with neck extended and feathers sleeked, the epitomy of watchfulness but we could see no reason for its anxiety. We stood back to give it space and time to settle down and it finally relaxed and recommenced feeding. Other birding colleagues were now on their way and we were mightily relieved to see it had not flown off for good, always a concern in such situations.

Some time later we were joined by around ten local birders, who came in some cases, running round the perimeter track. All managed to get views of the bird as dusk slowly began to creep up on us.The sandpiper took this as a cue to walk up and away from the water, tuck its bill into its feathers, stand on one leg and go to sleep, briefly being illuminated as one last shaft of sunlight shone through the gathering clouds of night.

It looked certain it would spend the night here and we just had to hope it would remain for tomorrow so others could come and enjoy it.

Purple Sandpipers breed over a large part of the Arctic from eastern Canada to the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia, with populations between these limits in Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, Norway and Sweden plus a tiny population of one or two pairs in northern Scotland and all these populations winter along the coasts of the North Atlantic. Where the bird at Farmoor has come from is anybody's guess but it is most likely to have come from either Norway or Arctic Russia.

One can only speculate as to why an essentially seashore dwelling bird should turn up so far inland but presumably having been born in either Canada, Scandinavia or Arctic Russia this individual was making its way south by taking a short cut across the middle of England, possibly destined for the south or east coast of England. 

Purple Sandpipers normally live on exposed rocky shores except when breeding and in Britain they can be found on all our coasts where there is suitable habitat  Being a bird that frequents rocky places, I suppose the reservoir with its large areas of concrete shoreline was probably the next best thing to its normal habitat for a stopover. I know of a regular wintering flock at Newhaven in East Sussex that frequent the artificial rock ramparts that protect the west pier from winter gales and there is another well known winter gathering on rocks protecting the outdoor seafront lido at Penzance in Cornwall.

The sun was setting and the light fading as I bade farewell to this lone traveller that had so brightened my day

The next day the Purple Sandpiper could not be found at the southeast corner of the reservoir but was re-located on the southern shore of the causeway, which is where it remained for the entire day, moving slowly back and fore over a small area.There was a steady procession of birders coming to see it throughout the day and no one was disappointed.

The Kittiwake was also still present, being reported from the southern shore of Farmoor Two in the early morning. During the day it moved to the northern side of Farmoor One but its health had deteriorated badly and after lunch Phil and myself went to investigate and found the unfortunate bird almost moribund near the valve tower. It was so weak it allowed me to pick it up from where it was lying helpless on the perimeter track.

The best we could do was to place it on the concrete shelving by the water where it would not be disturbed by the passers by on the track. It was obviously going to die but we hoped it could at least end its days in relative peace and without being troubled further. I gently placed it by the water and it swam out briefly and took a sip of water, raising our hopes, but then drifted helplessly into the shore, staggered onto the concrete and collapsed.

It would be dead by the morning if not before. A sad end for such an attractive and unusual visitor to the reservoir.