Sunday April 5

Rain? What rain? Having said I was forsaking the day's birding due to the forecast, the day dawned grey but dry, and if anything it brightened up slightly. So a change of plan was negotiated, and I joined Dave for another go.

It was also much windier than yesterday, and for some reason such conditions often cause gulls, normally absent, to fly over. It was a gull, well two gulls, which provided the morning's only highlight.

We had started at the church, still expecting rain to wash out proceedings, and marched swiftly to the flashes. Over the fields beyond the flash field a small group of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were joined by one, then two Common Gulls. Not quite a year tick (I saw one fly through in January), these are still scarce birds here. Worth a punt for the photo year list as we may not see any more this year.

Distant though. So sorry about this, but here is a true "record shot" of them.

66. Common Gulls

They came no closer, and we turned our attention to the flash itself. The Green-winged Teal was still here, and 36 Teal, two Snipe, and a Wigeon. Yawn.

A quick circuit of the patch produced a lateish Redwing, two singing Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs, and about five fly-over Cormorants. We returned to the flash to find more gulls, mostly Lesser Black-backs (barely half a dozen), three Black-headed Gulls, and a second-winter Herring Gull. Also, the flash now contained five Green Sandpipers.

Back at the cars, Dave headed off while I wandered around the church looking for something to photograph. I came up with a Jackdaw pretending to be Father Christmas

Ho Ho Ho

and a singing Dunnock.

There will be better weekends.