Every day has it's dog

Friday May 31. On the morning of a rare weekend away, I went back to the patch to try my luck once more. With an annoying doctor's appointment slap bang mid-morning I decided to try an hour from Church Farm from 8.30am, followed by 30 minutes from Netherstead Farm from 11.00am before Lyn and I headed off to North Wales to see some old friends.

Almost my first bird was a singing Goldcrest by the church, the first since January, but the remainder of the visit was dogged by this friendly chap.

He was even more enthusiastic a companion than the last one, and again a Brown Hare became the focus of canine activity, initially speeding away with dog in pursuit only to reappear seconds later heading straight for me. Twenty yards before it reached me its life must have passed before its eyes as it did a visible double-take and fortunately made the right decision which was to run straight passed me with dog still hard at its heels. I'm pleased to say that the collie soon came lolloping back having presumably decided to give up and resume our walk.

Anyway, back to the birds. The heavy rain of the last few days has raised the water-level in the flashes and they contained only 48 Mallards and six Lapwings. However, a species of wader was to become the bird of the morning as I picked up a pair of Curlews flying above the trees lining the stream. It is good to know that there is still a pair in the area, but their appearance may also mean a deserted nesting attempt somewhere nearby.

The only other noteworthy bird was a Sedge Warbler singing from the hedgerow at the south end of the pool. A new locality.