Black-winged Stilt: This graceful long-legged wader and mega rare Greater Manchester county tick was found today by Steven Nelson. I was just finishing re-seeding the grass in the garden when BirdGuides buzzed, and I grabbed my bins and camera.
Only 20 minutes up the road I made good time and was one of the first bikers to arrive, but as soon as I took my first shot the bird took off and flew high west, very high and very far before doing a u-turn and coming straight back.
These smart bird are unmistakeable with their fine straight bill, ridiculously long reddish pink legs and black and white plumage. Both in flight and at rest the long red legs are characteristic, but even if these are hidden in deep water, the pure white underparts and jet-black upperparts are distinctive enough.
No longer a very rare vagrant and more of an annual visitor with recent records of breeding in the UK. I was thrilled it came back as my first fee shots were pretty distant and when it returned it landed almost infant of me.
These unexpected local twitches are the best, you make good time, see the bird then back in time to put the abby to bed a win, win situation.
Also they become a social affair giving me a chance to catch up with some top local birders.
You wouldn’t know it to look at the area between Salford and Warrington, but this whole area was once part of one of the largest lowland raised peat bogs in the UK. Known as Chat Moss, this rare and special habitat formed after the last Ice Age and was a haven for wildlife, along with storing huge amounts of carbon.
The bird was foraging along the peat bogs of West Pools and unfortuantley for those who missed it today it was gone by the morning.
The bird was foraging along the peat bogs of West Pools and unfortuantley for those who missed it today it was gone by the morning. 
