Summer plumage Purple Sandpipers at Battery Rocks, Penzance

On bank holiday Monday I counted 16 Purple Sands on the Battery Rocks.  This date is getting quite late for this species.  These last remaining wintering birds will surely be moving north back to their breeding grounds in the next week.  Now is the only window to see this species approaching full summer plumage (unless of course you visit Norway or Greenland).

Below are some images from Monday.  They were taken around midday in poor light.  I used flash (Nikon SB-600) to give the image a bit of lift.