SUNDAY - Sunny Spells and serious showers!

I counted 32 house Martins in the late afternoon feeding high and down wind from the wetland. There were a few Swallows amongst them but the Swifts were feeding across the open fields. Buzzards spent the afternoon hanging on the wind whilst searching out prey below.

I met a couple from Shefield on the way down to the hide.They were fairly elderly and I was supresied they had negotiated the hide path which is getting quite overgrown. They hadn't seen much and commented on how fortunate Pete had been this morning to have left such a comprehensive list in the hide log. I tried to explain that much is down to local knowledge and if you knew in which tree to look and which fence posts to check you could see Tawny and Little Owl every visit!

The hide on arrival was empty. A single Little Grebe was out diving in the mid pool zone whilst a couple of Coot looked on. The Black Headed Gulls were sitting on nets on the rush stumps. (see photo)Great to watch them greeting their partners when they return to their nests. There must be at least 6 nests now. Thos not sitting were out scavenging in the field behind. A single Lesser Black Backed Gull joined them.

I hadn't been there long when a single Oystercatcher blasted across my view, circled the pool twice trying to find somewhere to land but decided on the field behind. Here it spent the next two hours feeding with Lapwings, Woodpigeon and Stock Dove. This is my first record at Wall Farm. A few weeks ago I had seen one at the Buttery pool having been tipped off by Martin Grant.

I picked up the usual warblers; Sedge, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap. I actually managed to find a Sedge warbler singing from a twigamongst the Bulrush in the middle of the wetland. Not far away a Male reed Bunting joined in.

A couple of hairs were out feeding in the left hand corner of the wetland field and seemed totally un perturbed when a Carrion Crow landed and walked within a foot or two.

In the distance another Buzzard harrowed by a single Raven and Skylark singing somewhere. The Tawny was still in the Horse Chestnut when I returned to the car and no sign of the Little Owl!!

Two Common Partridge flew away