Thursday April 4

A thoroughly unpleasant morning of driving sleet and rain put paid to Plan A (looking for Willow Tits in the Lenches), the cold night having scuppered Plan B (moth trapping in the garden). By mid afternoon there were signs that the rain might be easing, and so Plan C was put into action. A quick look at Morton Bagot.

These conditions should be grounds for optimism, but too often have I headed for the flash field only to be disappointed by same old, same old. As I reached the viewing point this afternoon I was pleased to see a pair of Redshanks had returned, and a Little Egret was feeding on the nearest flash. I counted 24 Teal, noted that a Cormorant had been sitting on the island until it saw me, and counted 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the field in the distance. Shifting position added a couple of Little Ringed Plovers and five Snipe, but it didn't look as though the visit was going to be memorable.

Things then started to pick up. The LRPs flew over me calling, and ten minutes later more calls had me looking around to see a record equalling five flying back towards the flash. Not bad. By now the rain was really pepping up and I decided to check the pool field. There was no sign anything, but as I continued on, a small wader flew passed me and was obviously intent on landing. I got to a point where I could scan for what I expected would be one of the LRPs, but found nothing. That was until I discovered that the bird in question was a Dunlin. Fantastic. The species was absent last year, so for once a plan (admittedly Plan C) had paid off.

Dunlin

The only other birds occupying the mud were three Pied Wagtails. However some farming activity has taken place since my last visit. I started to scan for Wheatears, but found instead four of the Little Ringed Plovers in a rather incongruous setting. Worth a shot.

Little Ringed Plovers in the grass.

Moving on, I had noticed on my last visit that part of the field had been sprayed and had turned a sickly lime green colour. However it had now been raked or lightly ploughed. It will be worth a look over the next few weeks.

I slogged back through the rain, noting only a couple of sheltering Chiffchaffs but with the warm glow that comes from trusting my instincts.