Once again the scrag end of winter is proving hard going. Dave and I strolled around the patch on a pleasant mild morning and saw pretty much the same species as we saw last weekend.
Still present were a pair of Stonechats, a range of finches in tiny numbers, an ever diminishing supply of winter thrushes, and a Marsh Tit.
On the plus side, the Shelduck has now settled into the flash field. It could be argued that this is the first returning summer visitor. I was pleased to see that the flock of Lapwings was still present, the 60 to 80 of the last week is the largest January flock since 2019, but on the other hand a far cry from ten years ago when numbers peaked at 530 in Jan/Feb 2012.
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| Most of the Lapwings |
The decline in Lapwings reflects the national situation and is not necessarily a symptom of the situation at Morton Bagot.
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| The Shelduck was in an awkward spot for a photo |
At least we completed the circuit quickly enough that I was home in time to watch England complete an exceptional win against India in the cricket.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
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