Photograph: Alamy Stock
The birds were so well camouflaged I almost didn’t see them. A dozen waders, perched on a rocky outcrop alongside the River Parrett, Somerset, at high tide, the water lapping at their feet. Most were turnstones, whose faded tortoiseshell plumage blended in surprisingly well with the rocks. A couple of dunlins, too, the ubiquitous small wader also in drab winter garb.
And one other bird: plump, dark and fast asleep, head tucked beneath its feathers. Only an unusual plumage feature, the patch of yellow at the base of its bill, gave away its identity as a purple sandpiper. Though at this time of year slate-grey sandpiper might be more apt.
Like the turnstone this is a bird of the far north, nesting on Arctic tundra, with a few pairs breeding in the Scottish Highlands. In winter they visit rocky coasts, almost always in the company of turnstones.
This was only the second time I had seen one in Somerset; the first, a distant view from Hinkley Point nuclear power station. So even though the bird resolutely refused to wake up it was still a thrill to find it on my local patch.
