Sunday April 5

A cloudy morning, after a briefly bright start, with a very light northerly breeze. Dave and I both felt optimistic. He had seen a Red Kite yesterday at Marsh Lane GP, and the pager was reporting a Hoopoe in Redditch and five Avocets at Salford Prior GP. Surely there would be something to see.

But this is Morton Bagot, and after a couple of hours we had managed six Chiffchaffs, a Tawny Owl, three Green Sandpipers, a Redshank, eight Lapwings, 22 Teal, and a record six Mute Swans.

Chiffchaff

Tawny Owl

The weather deteriorated slightly, it even started to spit with rain at one point, and we could have been forgiven for giving up.

But we are built of sterner stuff and decided that with the weather showing signs of improvement we would press on to do the south end. This was to prove a good move.

A flock of 90 Fieldfares heading north proved that passage was taking place, and the trickle of Meadow Pipits heading west reached a modest 18. We then flushed a Snipe from the ploughed field (the first for a few weeks), and noted that Buzzards were circling and displaying everywhere, with at least 12 in view. Finally we had a bit of proper luck. I heard a flutey "whooor", almost like someone whistling. I even asked Dave if had been him, and strangely he replied he had thought it was me! Then the noise came again and the penny dropped, surely a Curlew. Thankfully Dave spotted it flying west, well south of us. I got onto it, but it was too distant for my auto-focus to lock on.

This might not sound like much, but it was my first here for a couple of years, although Dave gripped me off with the only record last year. The species used to breed here, and like the similarly disappeared Tree Sparrow, was one of the sites star breeding birds. It seems likely this was just a lone bird passing through, or looking for a mate, and it is very sad that Curlews are in such trouble both in Warwickshire and nationally.

Still, it saved the day. The drive home also produced my first butterflies of the year (4 Brimstones) reminding me that sunny days have been few and far between, and also that I must get out more.