Frustration

It can be frustrating being a Morton Bagot birder. Wednesday April 25 was a day of heavy showers and a swirling low pressure system which dropped shedloads of Arctic Terns and Little Gulls onto Midlands reservoirs. I arrived home after work and negotiated an hour's birding. Surely there would be something to see, a wader perhaps. Well there was a new wader on the flash....a Common Snipe.


Common Snipe

This wasn't really what I had in mind. In a funny sort of way Snipe are a bit of a frustration here too. The habitat was created with a view to encouraging waders to breed, and Snipe was certainly one that is considered a possibility (albeit a bit of a long shot). Each year the odd bird lingers to the end of April, but I have never seen any display here, and I doubt this one will prove to be anything other than a late migrant.

Cut to Friday April 27. I had booked the day off due to non-birding commitments, but there was a window of opportunity in the morning. That slammed shut when it became apparent that the torrential rain we woke up to was not going to abate any time soon. By 3.00 pm I was waiting for my brother-in-law to phone prior to coming round to assess what building work we might need doing. The rain had finally stopped but with a cinema visit planned for the evening, it looked like I was not going birding. Then my brother-in-law, Brian,  rang to cancel (thank you Brian, thank you God). I was out like a shot. Morton Bagot had been transformed by the rain. For one thing, the pool was back.


The main pool (sometimes called The Marsh)

As I walked beside the pool, a movement caught my eye. It was a Wheatear, then another, and another....my frustration was over.