Wildlife Trust BCN Summer Leys :: 02 April 2022

Despite Kevin Heath having visited the Wildlife Trust BCN Summer Leys reserve during the week, he agreed to return on the Saturday as there were three species I hoped to see and photograph: jack snipe; garganey; spotted redshank. In a break from tradition, we stopped for breakfast at the McDonalds in Wellingborough and returned about 20 minutes later.

A spotted redshank has been seen regularly on Hardwater Lake opposite the main reserve - the best way to view this lake is to stop in the layby immediately after the double bridge, and walk along the roadside to the gate beyond. When we scanned the distant water's edge, we could see the spotted redshank feeding with a couple of common redshank - I took a few record photos but in this light that’s all they would be - a tick regardless and there might be the opportunity to stop and look again on the return journey.

We parked up and made for the Double Decker Hide as this is where most of the jack snipe sightings have been in recent days. The hide gives great views over the scrape and to the main lake beyond. Our search began, for both jack snipe and garganey - the common snipe huddled in the grasses and reeds – motionless. Scanning through we couldn't extract a jack snipe, perhaps as the water's edge was still frozen over from the night's sub-zero temperatures and the birds were playing a waiting game. After a short while we were rewarded with a pair of garganey cruising far to our right - they made multiple attempts to get close but each time thought better of it and swam back out of reach. I took a few record shots and was very happy with the results given the distances involved.

The garganey pair then disappeared back into the reeds and out of view just as a second drake appeared to our left. This bird made several passes as if it was also going to come close but again never did. We spent a lot of time watching and scanning the common snipe as they started to wake but we were still having no joy. Still two out of three of our target birds would be good reward.

We had positioned ourselves in the upper deck of the hide and could hear continuous conversations between those in the lower deck. These subsided as the snipe became more active and eventually a couple more people joined us up top. One lady made our day when she announced that there was a jack snipe now feeding on the closest island - there we were with views of jack snipe bobbing and feeding frantically. These views were nowhere need as those Kev had reported but much better than those I’d had of a bird flying away at Bicester Wetlands. Much of the time the bird was accompanied by a common snipe but managed to stay partially obscured as it continued to feed. Then as luck would have it, a moorhen decided to walk through, and the jack snipe froze looking directly ahead allowing a burst of photos of the stationary bird.

We watched the jack snipe for about 10 minutes when Kev said he was going to pack up his scope - just one last scan along the water's edge. Damn me, there was another jack snipe working the edge just 25m from us … and heading our way - the light was good - what an opportunity. I positioned myself in the corner of the hide and snapped off a series of shots. At one point the jack snipe was spooked by something overhead and it squatted down trying to blend in with the surroundings. This all made for a fun shoot, but I did also take the time to admire the bird through my bins.

As we finally packed up, we had a ruff appear to our left and fly past the hide, a couple of great white egret visited the scrape from the main lake, redshanks walked past the water's edge in front of the hide, and a drake pintail fed in front of the Pioneer Hide.

We reached the main car park and stopped to change our shoes, noticing that the new Visitor's Centre was up and running. A sparrowhawk circled above and sloped off to the west of the reserve.

The light was so much better than when we'd arrived and so we stopped off at Hardwater Lake and took another look for the spotted redshank. It was closer this time which made record shots a little easier. On the far shore we could see a little ringed plover - a nice final bird to add to our day list (52). Not a bad visit and a good count considering we'd spent almost all of our time in the same hide.