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Sparrowhawk

 

In the morning a message came by Rariliin (Birdline) that a  Terek sandpiper  (Xenus cinereus) had landed on Võiste beach in Pärnumaa. Because the bird seemed to be stationary I didn’t need to think long, I rushed to twitch. Because the weather was rainy and windy it could be presumed that  the bird wouldn’t be moving anywhere in the unpleasant weather. We checked the whole of Võiste shore but still didn’t find the Terek sandpiper again. There were plenty of all kinds of waders to see but the searched-for bird couldn’t be seen among them. The waders were somehow very nervous and flew around constantly, evidently because several sparrowhawks were active in the area and harassed the birds that had landed from migration. In front of our eyes a sparrowhawk caught a sandpiper. Hopefully it was not the searched-for Terek sandpiper.

This year a record number of Terek sandpipers have been seen in Estonia, on spring migration it was seen four times and now on autumn migration once more. I have seen the Terek sandpiper twice in Estonia before but the three twitching trips this year have not succeeded, it stands 3:0 in favour of the Terek sandpiper this year. The species can theoretically be seen until September, maybe my luck will turn.