Sunday April 26

A cloudy start, although it brightened later, but remained chilly with a light northerly breeze.

With Dave unable to make it this morning I decided to divide my time between sketching and surveying. The target of the former pastime was the Pheasant. There were plenty of males to choose from, although I only saw one female.

It was quite interesting to see the amount of individual variation demonstrated by the cock Pheasants. One showed a broad white neck band and almost white crown, while another would have a narrow neck band and a grey brown crown for instance. But at the end of the day they were just Pheasants, so I headed for the pool/flashes hoping for something better.

In the event it was to be the stonechat field which produced the goods in the form of two male Whinchats. I will have to rename the field as the chat field.

Whinchat

The birds were typically difficult to approach, hence the rather small image. The pool contained only the Little Grebes, while the flashes played host to four Teal, two Redshanks, and a Little Ringed Plover. Given the overnight rain, I had hoped for rather more.

Frustration of the day was two silhouetted and distant wagtails heading west well out of earshot. It looks like Yellow Wagtail is going to be difficult to come by again this year.