Sunday April 21 - Morton Bagot

 It remains on the cool side. Dave and I were joined by Andy G. He had been on site for an hour by the time we arrived and had been rewarded with views of a Tawny Owl in the hedge running down the hill from the north-west corner of Bannams Wood. Unfortunately for us it was being chivied by mobbing birds and had flown off.

We persuaded Andy we should walk along the road to check out Bannams Wood in the hope of finding a Wood Warbler or a Pied Fly. Needless to say we failed to find anything remotely that good. 

Plenty of Whitethroats are now singing away, and we also accumulated four singing Lesser Whitethroats, six singing Blackcaps, and two Grasshopper Warblers, but could find no new summer migrants. A pair of Stonechats was present again, the male is the colour-ringed bird and it seems likely that they will try to breed.

A pair of Little Egrets led us to the flash field where the Avocets were absent (it's a weekend!) but we did have a year tick in the form of four Gadwalls. Initially they were on the furthest flash and my ropey record shot was at least enough to show that they were three males and a female. Later two of the males landed on the nearest flash, briefly joining two pairs of Teal.

Gadwall

The four together (but distant)

A single Sand Martin and a Swallow was flying around, but the local House Martins have not yet returned.

I will probably not take part in the West Midlands all-dayer this year because I no longer have an X account, but maybe I'll gatecrash team Earlswood. 

NB: At about the time we were leaving Morton Bagot, a White Stork was seen flying high over Lower Bittell. Wrong place, wrong time....for us anyway.