A little while ago (the day before yesterday) I posted a somewhat morose whinge that I was really unlucky, moan, moan, whinge, whinge. However the next evening I consulted my crystal ball (well ok the weather forecast) and knew my luck might change if only I could get the plan right.
Heavy rain + reservoir = birds. So went the plan. I headed for Earlswood Lakes, the nearest thing to a large reservoir in my Circle. The rain pepped up as I arrived, and straight away I could see hirundines, hundreds of them. I estimated 150 Sand Martins and 30 Swallows, but it was probably more.
A further scan brought the first prize of the day, an adult summer Little Gull. It fluttered around Engine Pool, often quite close. Regulars at Earlswood will be surprised to learn that it was an Earlswood tick (and indeed a Circle tick) for me. I don't go there nearly enough.
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| The Little Gull - after the rain abated |
The only downside was that I was getting absolutely soaked. Several Willow Warblers sang, and by the time I had reached the causeway a single Common Tern had joined the hirundine hoard. After much sifting through the martins I found two House Martins, and then set off to walk around Windmill Pool where I flushed a Little Egret, and then a Common Sandpiper, my fourth #LocalBigYear tick of the day. John Sirrett pulled up and told me there had been a Wheatear on the causeway earlier.
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| Willow Warbler |
A walk along the side of Terry's Pool produced some Shovelers, the drake Wigeon, and the Willow Warbler shown in the photo. As the rain became lighter and finally stopped, so the birds seemed to melt away. The Little Gull started circling higher, and the hirundines also dispersed. The show was over.
But, not really. Back home I dried off, grabbed some lunch and made my way to my new favourite place, Mappleborough Green. I had barely got past The Boot Inn when a small bird flushed from a tangle of weeds and landed in a hedge. I had seen the white outer tail feathers and was expecting a Reed Bunting, but in fact it was a Common Whitethroat, another year-tick.
I walked down the field towards the flash and cautiously surveyed the bit you can see from the footpath. The Green Sandpiper was at last in a place where I could get a shot, along with a pair of Little Ringed Plovers.
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| Green Sandpiper |
Beyond the flash were two, no three Wheatears, another year-tick. A Kingfisher called as it flew down the brook, and a couple of Snipe took flight.
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| One of the three male Wheatears |
I back-tracked and cautiously peered through the trees at the larger flash, which is on private land. A Shoveler, two more Little Ringed Plovers, a pair of Shelducks, a few Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls, a Swallow which flew around, and then this...
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| Curlew |
Wow. I managed to take some shots and leave without disturbing anything on the flash, although a shouty Herring Gull appeared later and probably alerted the occupants that someone was creeping about. Speaking of shouty things, I did hear one of those too.
On my way back to the car it occurred to me that I should check the hedgerows for Redstart, and literally the first one I looked at produced this...
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| Redstart |
Blooming heck. So that's eight #LocalPatchYear ticks in a day. Could this be the start of a purple patch?
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