Bring on the rain

The forecast was for rain all day, and although birding at Morton Bagot is pretty tough in wet weather due to a complete lack of shelter, I wasn't too displeased as the main pool in particular really needs topping up. By mid afternoon I noticed the rain had stopped and it looked a little brighter. I decided I might get an hour of birding in. By the time I got there, the drizzle had resumed and the wind had got up. It was quite unpleasant. I noticed another car where I had parked and on scanning the area spotted a birder trudging back. This turned out to be Alan Matthews (a tick for me) and we exchanged phone numbers (or we would have done if I could have remembered my mobile number). Alan had seen a Little Ringed Plover, but didn't mention anything else. I reached the flash and was pleased to see a Redshank and a Green Sandpiper. Ironically I couldn't find the LRP.

Common Redshank

When I first visited Morton Bagot in 2007 I only saw one Redshank on a single date. Each year since then however, at least one pair has spent the early spring here, and breeding was suspected on at least one occasion. I still hope to see Redshank chicks one year, but I suspect that the presence of livestock in the flash field is a major problem. I hadn't seen a Redshank here since March, hence my relief that one at least is still around.