It was initially cloudy with some light sleet, but this soon stopped and eventually the sun came out. A light north-westerly breeze. Dave joined me and after being spotted by the Netherstead Hall whippet we chose to start by walking along the road to avoid having to take it for walkies.
As usual this route offered up little better than Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, but things improved when we reached the flash field. All four Avocets were still present, along with eight Teal, a Lapwing, and a Little Egret which flew in from the back field after being disturbed by a quad-bike.
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| Little Egret |
Ten years ago this would have been a very exciting arrival, but nowadays they are regular while the Tree Sparrows, Grey Partridges, and even Yellowhammers which were such a feature of visits a decade ago have largely gone.
On the other hand, as Dave and I started to move on, a Curlew call had us scurrying back to the viewpoint. Another blast from the past. We scanned around in vain, hearing it one more time, before spotting a couple of newly arrived House Martins and a Swallow as compensation. A Willow Warbler sang from further up the hedge, and suddenly it felt as though spring wasn't so very far away.
The rest of the morning was largely uneventful, the highlight being a singing Marsh Tit in the ridge field.
We saw no insects beyond a few bumblebees, but this reminds me I did put the moth-trap out on Friday night for the GM Survey. The results were:
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| Willow Warbler - per Tony & Leigh |
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