Wednesday July 12 - What's changed at Morton Bagot?

After Monday's upbeat post about the waders at Morton Bagot I was keen to get down there again to see if there was anything new.

One obvious difference became apparent as I entered the old pool field. The cattle are back. This is actually a good thing, particularly as I don't own a dog. The large horned beasts eyed me with suspicion, but were not tempted to trot over.

Dog owners beware

The actual scrapes remain largely bird-less except for a Little Egret which quickly relocated to the flash field. Also present, but invisible, was a singing Grasshopper Warbler.

So far, so similar. The flashes still look good but autumn migration is slow and there wasn't much difference. The adult Redshank and Little Ringed Plover have both gone, but the latter was replaced by two juveniles.

Juvenile Little Ringed Plovers keeping their distance.

Still present were at least six Green Sandpipers and the Common Sandpiper, but like the Little Ringed Plovers they were feeding at the back of the nearest flash. The Teal are back to just two female types.

Six Greylag Geese have turned up. The Tundra Bean Goose has now thoroughly blotted its copybook by slouching around Arrow Valley Lake with the Greylags. I can't quite bring myself to go and look at it, now that it's pretty certainly an escape. But if it turns up at Morton Bagot its poor provenance will be conveniently forgotten.

It's too early in the return passage season to be looking for passerines with any optimism, so its waders or bust until August.