The leaping salmon

BEST VIEWED UNDER THE LENS

A salmon leaps in the white water of the River Kent against the powerful flow of the water rushing through one of the limestone gorges in the lower reaches. The salmon is heading upstream to the spawning grounds in the upper tributaries.

One of my colleagues lives next to this spot, and she emailed me to let me know the salmon were leaping. I met someone else taking photographs who said that the best time here is about two hours after high tide in the Kent Estuary which pushes the salmon up into the river. I was joined by Matt after a few minutes, and we watched a number of fish of different sizes leaping.

And after so many weeks of wind, cloud and rain what a glorious day - that got better and better as it went on. After leaving the salmon I headed home on another mission. I picked up my telescope and headed down to Arnside Marsh, where a buff-breasted sandpiper was first seen two days ago on the outer edge of the marsh. I have done no proper rarity chasing this year, and I said I would not travel more than 20 miles to see one. But this one was on the doorstep, so how could I resist?

I headed for the cluster of people with tripods and telescopes on the edge of the marsh, and there it was within 50 metres of the birders. A new lifer for me, and such a handsome little wader too. And here it is in Arnside, an American species on the wrong side of the Atlantic, blown across perhaps on the tail-end of one of the hurricanes.

Eventually it flew away from us, settling in one of the creeks a few hundred metres away. The others began to leave and I was left alone in one of my favourite places in the afternoon sunshine watching the pied wagtails and a passage wheatear flycatching on the saltmarsh. I heard the unmistakable titter of a whimbrel, another bird that I haven't seen all year. So the year list moves on to 145.