Sunday April 7

Mostly cloudy with a very light easterly. Chilly.

I had a good tramp around this morning, the emphasis remaining on birds because of the lack of sunshine and warmth. I didn't see a single butterfly.

However, spring did manage a bit of a look in. The usual Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps sang, and on reaching the end of the access road I was scanning towards Clowse Wood when my first two Swallows of the year flew through my field of view. there was no chance of a photograph as they hurried north.

A little later I noticed that the tree adopted by the local Cormorants supported six birds, a total of seven later flew off.

Cormorants

There was no sign of the Dunlin, or anything else, on the former pool. But the flash field was reasonable. It contained 31 Teal, 12 Coots, three Black-headed Gulls, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 12 Lapwings, a Green Sandpiper, three Snipe, a Redshank, and three Little Ringed Plovers.

When I reached the raptor viewpoint my scanning revealed four small hirundines distantly jinking around above the flash field. I concluded that they were Sand Martins. They soon disappeared so I guess they were, like the Swallows, heading north, but with less of a sense of urgency.

A big circuit around the south end was pretty disappointing, the only thing worth noting being a flock in 110 Linnets in the usual place.

Finally, I decided to park at Bannam's Wood in the hope of photographing a Nuthatch. There was certainly at least one calling, but I only managed one view and it was well back in the wood. So I settled for a much more obliging singing Chiffchaff to conclude the morning's effort.

Chiffchaff