Sunday August 10

I had intended to sit at home today. It chucked it down all morning, and we had our friend Mal coming for the afternoon. By 3.00pm  the rain had gone and had been replaced by a gale force westerly. Surely all this weather must have dropped something down, I thought.

I cracked, and blew oodles of brownie points promising I would be back in an hour. Another triumph of optimism over experience, the latter has taught me that the wild weather, which does indeed produce birds at Midland reservoirs, fails to have any effect at Morton Bagot. Perhaps its just too small.

Within minutes of arriving I found that once again the patch was untouched. The Green Sandpipers, Snipe, and Teal were all still present, and no other waders had joined them. I did get one slice of luck though. A rapidly moving bird caught my attention above the flash, not a wader, but a Hobby. It was far too quick for a photo though.

The main pool was also unaffected by the conditions, and I was left to wonder what would be worth photographing. The answer came when I remembered that yesterday I had noticed that there were actually two, not one, Little Grebe chicks. They were still present and a lot less wary than their pesky parents.

I suspect I will continue to visit the place after storms pass through. Perhaps one day my optimism may be vindicated.