Lesser Yellowlegs

[mrs fish]

I think John should tell us about his sighting and photographing of the Lesser Yellowleg he saw in Norfolk yesterday.

I had to google to find out about it as it is a long way from home, winters in california
Is it very rare?

[Crested Newt]

Not very rare mate, there classed as least concern on IUCN red list 2006 lovely birds though

[rlchew]

This bird has been present at Thornham in north Norfolk since mid-January I believe.

The Lesser Yellowlegs is a north Amercian wader and a scarce visitor to the UK albeit recorded most years.

I have seen 2 in the UK .... 1 at East Tilbury in Essex in February 1999 and 1 at Amwell in Hertfordshire in October 2002.

Lesser Yellowlegs

I have to say that John has captured an excellent photo of the Thornham bird.

Richard

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

I think John should tell us about his sighting and photographing of the Lesser Yellowleg he saw in Norfolk yesterday.

I had to google to find out about it as it is a long way from home, winters in california
Is it very rare?

They are a common American wader, the equivalent of our Redshank, +are found on the eastern seaboard too, with many wintering in South America. At least one usually turns up in UK most years. The only one I've seen in UK was at Lodmoor, Dorset over 10 years ago.

The Greater Yellowlegs is much rarer over here + I've only seen them across the Atlantic- I guess they're the equivalent of a Greenshank.

[mrs fish]

Thanks for the info
I suppose they must be quite scarce for Norfolk if they come across the Atlantic.

[John]

aeshna5 is as usual spot on with his assessment. I have had a 5 since 1998 (inc this one). There was one (I'm not sure if it was the same bird) that visited Bankes (north of Southport two years on the trot (1998 / 99 I think. Stiffkey had one a couple of years ago that was a long stayer and I can't remember where I had the other one.

I took David (Dai the Dragon) with me and he was expecting the bird to be quite distant from us. He was a bit gobsmacked to see how close to all the birders he was.

John