After two days onboard I was out and about on Friday morning, spending a few hours at Brandon Marsh. Nothing much had changed from my visit earlier in the week with no new summer arrivals, with the exception of two
Yellow Wagtails, which flew straight through East marsh and a
White Wagtail, which landed briefly on Willow Island!
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| Dazza's photo of Great Egret at Summer Leys |
A short-lived change in the weather on Saturday gave Dazza and I the chance to visit Summer Leys Nature Reserve, on the Upper Nene Washes, one of her favourite walks and just a 40-minute drive. We did the full circle in the lovely spring sunshine, which brought out a half dozen
Brimstone butterflies and a couple of
Comma. The birding highlights included a
Great Egret, which we spotted on the river near the fast running wier, a
Red Kite over and a sleeping
Common Scoter. Two
Avocets also reported but we dipped on them!
In the late afternoon, a couple of
Common Terns hung around the marina for a short while fishing, until finally heading off to the East just before sunset.
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| Whooper Swan ~ East Marsh Pool |
I was out early this morning at Brandon Marsh! With southerlies and reasonably clear skies overnight I was hopeful that a few more migrants would have dropped in. Frankly, despite a definite fall of
Sedge Warbler, six recorded singing around the reserve, the visit, in general, was disappointing. A
Whooper Swan, most likely the same bird seen recently at Draycote Water and Wolston Gravel Works in the company of a small group of
Mute Swans was on East Marsh Pool and remained until just after 9am.
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| Year 1st Sedge Warbler from East Marsh hide today! |
Plenty of
Sand Martins checking out the nesting structures, double-figure
Swallows but no
House Martins for me today!
Chiffchaffs,
Willow Warblers and
Blackcaps all now seem well established throughout the reserve and
Cetti's Warblers are becoming more daring, with four seen and calling. Waders included: (3)
Little-ringed Plover, (4)
Oystercatcher and (2)
Redshank.
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| Bullfinch ~ Summer Leys |
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| Redshank ~ During Friday's visit to Brandon Marsh |
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| Little-ringed Plover ~ During Friday's visit to Brandon Marsh |
