A few hours at Brandon Marsh this morning before the hoards arrived, mainly around the woods and reedbeds in search of new arrivals. Nothing new to add but an increase in
Chiffchaff singing with (9)today and three
Willow Tits, one heard at 'Olive Bench', one seen to the rear of Wright Hide and then another heard near the Carlton ditch. The Farm Track produced a single
Redwing, dwindling numbers now and as I passed Willow Wood a
♂Muntjac darted across my path!
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Dwindling numbers of Redwing on the reserve! |
What little time I did spend in the hides produced the usual selection of now settled species, but I could only find a pair of
Pintail on East Marsh Pool, with the second female missing. One addition to my Brandon year list was a single
Dunlin, which flew through calling but never seemed to drop in. Plenty of
Sand Martin, even checking out the nesting structure at this early stage. A single
Swallow and while at the tool store eating my lunch, two
House Martins were over the Lafarge works. Lots of
Buzzards enjoying the thermals today, plus a couple of
Sparrowhawk.