The county of Warwickshire, naturally land locked and probably as far from the coast as you can get is renown for difficult birding and as birders of the county we sure do have to work hard to find the spoils.
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| Little Gulls galore! This one at Brandon Marsh |
However, we do occasionally get days when we're rewarded for our efforts and today was one of those, well for me anyway. A real influx overnight throughout my local patch of
Little Gulls! I'm not in fact a real gull enthusiast but when you get to see these dainty 'little gulls', in fact the smallest in the world, you can't help but admire them as they grace the water displaying their dark underwings and pinkish flush. In fact a small number of birds observed today were almost in full summer plumage, a real treat.
First stop was Draycote Water and here I managed to count fifteen birds as I observed from the 'Sailing Club'. Also within were my first
Common Terns of the year, with three birds also in the mix.
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| Little Gull - Record image of one of six at Brandon Marsh today! |
After enjoying the spectacle at Draycote Water I headed off to Brandon Marsh for the late morning, where more
Little Gulls could be found, a total of six here at one time observed from the Wright Hide.
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| Yet more Little Gulls - This one over the water at Napton Reservoir! |
Finally a stop off at Napton Reservoir prior to returning to the marina and yes, more
Little Gulls! This time two birds feeding over the water, with a single
Common Tern for company.
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| Muntjac on Wigeon Bank |
There are other observations to add from today at Brandon Marsh and in the warm conditions during the morning a small selection of butterflies on the wing with: (9)
Brimstone, (2)
Comma, (1)
Small Tortoiseshell and (2)
Peacock. Other birds of note recorded during my stay included: (1)
Green Sandpiper, (5)
Redshank, (4)
Snipe, (2)
Little-ringed Plover, (4)
Oystercatcher, (1)
Sedge Warbler, (3)
Shelduck and (2)
Raven over. The
Black-tailed Godwit and
Pintail pair remain. A male
Muntjac Deer also made an appearance on Wigeon Bank, feeding briefly before heading off!
