Scrolling briefly back to Thursday, I had a phone call from Mike Lane who was kind enough to let me know that he had seen a Great White Egret at Morton Bagot. Not so very long ago I would have gone to see it straight away, but this species is more regular locally these days.
So I chose to spend Friday morning at Earlswood Lakes instead, where the modest highlight was a flock of 14 Goosanders.
The weekend was a complete wash-out, so I waited until today to go to Morton Bagot. I was pretty sure the Egret would have gone anyway because all the previous ones have been one day wonders.
As expected the site was inundated with water, all the scrapes being full and the old pool making a brief comeback. It was a sunny morning and I was delighted to discover that the local Tawny Owl was sitting in full view.
I was basically just ticking off the regulars when I reached the first spot that you can get a distant view of the flash field. It looked pretty quiet, but just beyond the back hedge a deep ditch bisects the next field. Anything that might be in it would have to be pretty big to be visible, but as luck would have it....
In case you're wondering, the yellow bill and long neck add up to a Great White Egret, no doubt Mike Lane's bird which has chosen to buck the trend and stay here for more than one day.
I moved on to view the flash field, where the extra water served only to deter the local Teal flock, only two or three remaining, and now supported 33 Mallard and 10 Lapwings instead.
Apart from that I counted three Stonechats across the site and had a fly-over Yellowhammer coming from the direction of Castle Farm, where I notice there is a big field of maize in the ground. I should check it out this winter.