February showers

Managed to forget my bins this afternoon! Fortunately, I was with my Dad and he had a pair, plus our two scopes. We also managed to get a complete soaking courtesy of a rather early April shower. Well worth the dousing though, with the Ings all to ourselves for a couple of hours.


Birds very flighty today, possibly due to the imm Peregrine which spent all afternoon sitting on the grass on the Storwood side. 5 Roe Deer were nice, plus 15 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Dunlin, a first winter Med Gull, which looked slighter than the bird the other day and with a different mask pattern, 14 Goosander, an impressive 82 Pintail and some Oystercatchers. A bulky palish-mantled Common Gull had me interested for a moment, but the bill structure, broad white tertial tips and covert pattern just wasn't good enough for delawarensis.

First winter Common Gull with a palish mantle.


Golden Plover and Lapwing. Some of the former are coming into breeding plumage, sporting black bellies.


First winter Med Gull


Peregrine - presumed second calendar year female.