Storms passed through overnight and it was forecast to be misty in the morning - another trip to see if I could see anything new (black terns?). I opted for @WildlifeBCN Summer Leys as they had garganey, sanderling, turnstone and black terns noted in previous days. 
I arose early and set off by 05.30am.
On the A43 there was an accident and I joined the queue, letting police cars and highways agency lorries pass between the inside and outside lanes. A wait of 20 minutes and off again - the driver appeared to have collided with he central reservation. I had to take the long route round as Hardwater Lane is still closed due to repair on the bridge.
I was the first car in the car park - I headed for the Pioneer hide and took the corner vantage point. 
Looking out there was nothing out of the ordinary, other than the height of the water - much higher than my previous visit and lapping up the sides and over the various island scrapes. The thunderstorms yesterday look as if they have caused significant rise in the water level - this has destroyed significant numbers of black-headed gull and common tern nests.
I opted for a circuit and as I started off a cuckoo flew past and off down the reserve. Still large numbers of garden warbler singing, in all corners.
I had another encounter with the cuckoo at the Viewing Screen and then again just past the 
Charles Towler hide / feeding station. I've still not seen any activity at the sand martin wall and to be honest there wasn't anything to see other than distant reed and sedge warbler plus more garden warbler. Just before I turned back onto the reserve from the disused railway line I had reasonable views of a chiffchaff, crossing back and forward across the line, and from the small bridge I saw pairs of both green woodpecker and bullfinch.
At the Marigold Pond I saw the cuckoo again, plus a number of reed warbler working along the reed bed. No dragonflies this time.
A last look at the Pioneer hide but nothing extra showing to headed home by 09.55am.
Today's Sightings (40) included: black-headed gull, blackbird, blackcap, blue tit, bullfinch, canada goose, carrion crow, chaffinch, chiffchaff, common tern, coot, cormorant, cuckoo, gadwall, garden warbler, goldfinch, great crested grebe, great tit, green woodpecker, greenfinch, grey heron, greylag goose, jackdaw, lapwing, lesser black-backed gull, little egret, long-tailed tit, magpie, mallard, mute swan, reed bunting, reed warbler, robin, sedge warbler, song thrush, swift, tufted duck, wigeon, woodpigeon and wren.
No comments:
Post a Comment