I started proceedings by looking on the Sheep Fields at the back of the reserve and the new workings which the aggregate company are excavating still.
Best bird went to my first Cuckoo of the year,belting out that familiar song,unfortunately one which we do not hear as much these days,but still an iconic sound of spring and warmer months to come.
Other species seen and heard included 2 Garden Warbler,one of which showed fairly well,11 Sand Martin over the workings and another scarce sound locally,a displaying male Snipe over the Sheep Fields.
A nice diversion away from birds,saw a leveret showing quite closely,oblivious to the strange human rattling away shots on his camera...a little beauty and great to see.
After a good look around this area,i drove the short distance over to the reserve proper.
After shedding a bit of clothing and my tripod left in the car i started by looking on Grebe Lake first,where the best bird of the morning so far was seen.
As i scanned for Otters,a wader flew rapidly past me....a Whimbrel,this is the first time i have seen the species on the reserve and it headed low,east and over the hedge at the end of the pit and i didn't see it again on the remainder of the reserve,but what a nice record all the same.
As i wandered around the rest of the reserve,some decent numbers of Warblers were encountered,particularly Garden Warblers,with at least 9 singing males logged.Totals for other species were 16 singing male Reed Warbler,6 m. Sedge Warbler,2 m. Whitethroat,1 m. Lesser Whitethroat,13 m. Willow Warbler and finally 8 m. Chiffchaff.
It was also nice to see some numbers of aerial insect eaters on the wing today as well,with at least 45 Sand Martin,25 House Martin and 30 Swift,making for a great spectacle as they all fed together in a mixed feeding flock.
On the newly created fishing pond on the border of the reserve,2 pairs of Egyptian Geese have settled in,with one pair having already hatched a brood of four goslings.
Another first for the year on a return look on Grebe Lake,saw me finally seeing my first Common Tern of the year,a lone individual sitting on the Tern raft.Hopefully these lovely birds will raise a brood successfully here again this summer.
So today wasn't a bad day really,but i wish we could have some proper sunny weather for a change.
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| Leveret On The Sheep Fields. |
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| Leveret On The Sheep Fields. |
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| 'Lag' Family. |
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| Female Egyptian Goose With Her Brood. |
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