It's been a slightly odd day. We had some friends visiting, one of whom was keen to come birding with me. My plan was to take him to Earlswood for some easy birding.
A couple of hours before they were due to arrive I learnt that a Ringed Plover had turned up on the island. Just a Ringed Plover, but it would also be a LocalBigYear tick. So I went straight away, briefly joined Matt and John O who were able to indicate where it was, and then return home to await our friends' arrival. The whole operation took just 30 minutes.
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| Ringed Plover |
Our friends were late, and I didn't get back to Earlswood until 11.00. We had been allowed two hours (lunch in Stratford was on the agenda), so just had time to walk around Windmill Pool.
The Greenshank was still around, and the Ringed Plover remained on its island. The rest of the visit produced just the usual birds, but also the arresting spectacle of a very large gentleman who had capsized his dinghy being rescued by another sailor. He had been towed to the shallows but was too exhausted to get back on his boat, and too large to be lifted aboard by his rescuer. We were about to take our shoes and socks off to wade to their aid when he finally managed to stand up and clamber aboard.
The only other noteworthy event was the discovery of a yellow and black caterpillar in the car when we were back home. I reckon I must have accidentally knocked it off the bushes below the dam at Earlswood when I opened the car door. It turned out to be a Buff-tip moth caterpillar.
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