Time and tide wait for no man (origins?) so with the causeway at Holy Island open from 05:35 and first light about 45 minutes before, it was up and out and scope-out at 5:00am.
Chilly, breezy but clear and dry, time to scan the hundreds of constantly reshuffling Dunlin and Ringed Plover. And scan again, and again, and again. And then joined by 'Alan the Butcher' and his colleague, and then Eric Barnes and Woodhorn Birder, so now some co-ordinated scanning, all from the first lay-by on the right.
And then some spread-out scanning, with Alan et al moving to the second lay-by (just island-side of the white hut), and Messrs Barnes and Woodhorn in between.
And then, after about an hour, Eric announced he had the Kentish Plover nearer the second lay-by, right hand side, and voila, a peek through his scope and then a bit of focus on mine and second Lifer of the year.
Funny how the photos don't do the bird justice, in terms of how different it was from the RPs; paler, quicker, dumpier (cut off back end) and so it made picking it out far easier than I imagined and the previous hour of eliminating every RP one by one a wasted endeavour. Still, older and wiser!
Moving to where Alan and Co. were, the White-rumped Sandpiper was there. If I was year-listing, I would have got a wee tad more excited, but alas, no.
And calling in at WH, a Garden Warbler in the trees opposite the Fire Station entrance. Bonus!
