On this day - Long-billed Dowitcher

On this day in 2011 I saw my first ever Long-billed Dowitcher, feeding along the shoreline of Stithians Reservoir with a Pectoral Sandpiper. 

Long-billed Dowitcher - Stithians Reservoir - September 2011 - photo by Lee Gregory

It was as a chaser to my Scilly debut with Lee and Tim. A weekend of firsts which included; first hardcore twitch to the south west - travelling through the night, first helicopter ride, first visit to Scilly, first Solitary Sandpiper, first Pomarine Skua and first Long-billed Dowitcher. 

Such halcyon days! Travel was unrestricted, lifers came by the handful and a global pandemic was the stuff of fiction and films!  

The supporting cast was through the roof that trip too; Wryneck, Pectoral Sandpiper and Storm Petrel to name a few. 

Little did I know, the next Long-billed Dowitcher would be encountered just down the road! A spring bird at Livermere...