Friday 8th May: Red-crested pochard and Oystercatcher
A miserable start to the day with the strong westerly wind still and squally rain, nor were there any grounded waders or indeed anything of interest on the Meadow to show for my efforts in braving the weather. Burgess Field was similarly quiet with the warblers keeping their heads down. There were a couple of sedge warblers singing from their usual spots and one was displaying a remarkable degree of mimicry with song thrush and what sounded like a whimbrel included in its repertoire!
Late afternoon update:
A late afternoon run around the Meadow proved much more rewarding: there were three RED-CRESTED POCHARDS resting on what remains of the flood water in Burgess Channel. This is something of a rarity for the Meadow and certainly hasn't been seen here since I started covering the patch in the autumn of 2007. Also at last some passage waders in the form of an OYSTERCATCHER and two DUNLIN both located along the north shore.
Sedge warblers can be great mimics © Pete Styles
Late afternoon update:
A late afternoon run around the Meadow proved much more rewarding: there were three RED-CRESTED POCHARDS resting on what remains of the flood water in Burgess Channel. This is something of a rarity for the Meadow and certainly hasn't been seen here since I started covering the patch in the autumn of 2007. Also at last some passage waders in the form of an OYSTERCATCHER and two DUNLIN both located along the north shore.
Sedge warblers can be great mimics © Pete Styles