It was chilly, it was grey, it was damp, it was Morton Bagot. Dave and I did our best but the gods were against us. With insects determined to hide in the grass we were left with only birds and mammals to look at.
We did have one minor victory when a Cuckoo announced its presence somewhere far in the distance towards Studley. Needless to say, we didn't see it. The Garden Warbler seems to have gone, or perhaps it has just stopped singing. On the other hand we did hear three Reed Warblers, including one rather incongruously singing from Stapenhill Wood.
Before Dave arrived I got some shots of a pair of Red-legged Partridges and a couple of Brown Hares, which is just as well because not much else came in range.
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| Red-legged Partridges |
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| Have they just had a tiff? |
At the flash field it was encouraging to see that the Lapwing chick is still with us, and looking quite bulky. But less promising was the presence of both adult Shelducks, which might mean that their breeding attempt has failed this year. A single adult Little Ringed Plover had the fairly substantial amount of mud surrounding the nearest flash all to itself.
We eventually reached the raptor watchpoint and watched nine Common Swifts fly by. The peak for Swifts feeding over Morton Bagot is usually at the end of June, so maybe these were the vanguard.
But that was that about it. We're approaching the anniversary of the Red-backed Shrike though, so think positively. It only takes one bird.
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