It's been a while but here we are again, and I'm sad to say this will be the last one of these patch reviews I'll do for Shalford Water Meadows. Not too sad though as a new patch and county list beckons with my southward migration to Pulborough in West Sussex this week.
As is typical for midsummer it's all been a little bit quiet on the bird front lately and it's at this time of year that one's attentions are drawn to keeping tabs on the rather more scarce resident and migrant breeding species on the patch rather than the unpredictable excitement of passage birds in spring and autumn.
As of the middle of June I'm pleased to report there were at least three active nest holes in the Sand Martin colony on St Catherine's Hill, with the adults busy feeding youngsters. When I revisited on the 29th it had all gone rather quiet, but I'm hoping that just means they're between broods. Perhaps someone with more experience of this species' breeding habits can enlighten me? Either way it really is wonderful to see this species breeding so close to Guildford.
I was getting a little anxious about the Stonechats at St Catherine's Lock as the young seemed to be taking forever to fledge but I'm pleased to report that both adults were seen with two juveniles in tow on 20th June, this increasing to three juveniles by the 29th. Great to see and another nice one to confirm as breeding here after last year's mystery juvenile at the lock in mid-June aroused suspicions that this species was more than just a winter visitor here.
Juvenile Stonechat
Juv Stonechat
The Spotted Flycatcher pair were also still present in the trees on the western edge of Shalford Park as of this past weekend (via Kit Britten) following on from my delight at discovering a week or two ago that they are indeed nesting in this area. Surely one of the closest remaining breeding pairs of this declining species to Guildford town centre now?
Spotted Flycatcher on nest
From a species that is dwindling as a breeder in Surrey to one that is very much on the increase: it's been great to confirm the presence of at least one breeding pair of Firecrest on the patch this year (I obviously won't say exactly where), as this species continues to spread ever closer to urbanity in this part of the world.
Firecrest - photo by Kit Britten
Away from the scarcer stuff there's so many juvenile birds around now, including a regular gang of Mistle Thrushes at Shalford Park, all the common Tits, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Blackbirds and Grey Wagtails plus the first young Swallows and House Martins at St Catherine's Lock the other day.
Mistle Thrushes - photo by Richard Waters
Mistle Thrush - photo by Richard Waters
Green Woodpeckers have been notable by their absence in recent weeks - as Kit pointed out on our walk around the patch ten days or so ago - so it was good to see an adult and a juvenile together just west of the railway line near the Park and Ride on the 29th.
Green Woodpecker (juvenile)
Reed Buntings, Song Thrushes and Whitethroats have all been seen carrying food and until recently there were still at least three or four Garden Warblers singing around the area; a large increase on last year if they all breed successfully. Reed Warblers have gone quiet, if indeed there are any on territory at all (last year it seemed only one pair bred) but there's still at least one pair of Sedge Warblers near St Catherine's Lock; one was singing by St Catherine's Pool on the 25th while another was seen carrying food into Broom Meadow on the same day. As I mentioned in my previous patch diary post a Water Rail regularly alarm calling in Mill Mead Meadow towards the end of May would suggest breeding success as I'm told they often call in such a way when they have young around.
Whitethroat - photo by Dave Carlsson
It's been such an enjoyable eighteen months or so patch watching Shalford, getting to know its birds and other wildlife. Patch birding is always full of surprises but I don't think I ever would have imagined a year and a half ago I would find Garganey, Brent Goose, Med Gull, Curlew, Lesser Whitethroat, Crossbill, Cuckoo, Nightingale and many more locally scarce species just a stone's throw from Guildford town centre, not to mention breeding Stonechat, Sand Martin, Spot Fly and Firecrest. It just goes to show the value of putting in that bit of extra effort to find birds on your own doorstep. I can't wait to get out and about in the Pulborough area and start all over again!
Late April is surely one of the most exciting times of year to be a watcher of a local patch, when each day seems to bring new surprises and regional scarcities take on the guise of megas - a patch year tick or even better a patch lifer delivering all the excitement and more of connecting with a brand new species.
Despite the persistent lack of rain, late frosts and pesky northerly winds it's been a pretty great ten days at Shalford with seven year ticks, one of them a first for the site as far as I'm aware.
18th April
A good start to the new week after the Easter weekend. In the scrub between Horse Field and the Railway Triangle I discovered first a Chiffchaff with an interesting 'swee-oo' call (thanks to David Darrell Lambert for info and ID help on this. Further reading here: http://birdingfrontiers.com/2011/07/23/swee-oo-calling-chiffchaffs/) and then a Nightingale singing intermittently in the bushes right by the railway line. No doubt there have been previous records but as far as I can tell it's the first documented site record and a very nice way to notch up my 90th species on the patch year list! On to St Catherine's where I found the regular pair of Stonechats still in attendance in St Catherine's Meadow along with the first Sedge Warbler of the year singing in Broom Meadow. Other bits of note from today included one Red Kite, six Whitethroats, two House Martins, one Swallow and one Willow Warbler.
19th April
Rather quieter today after yesterday's excitement. Indeed, the Nightingale and Sedge Warbler were both missing in action. The highlights from today's two visits were the pair of Red-legged Partridges in Horse Field, three Stonechats and five Whitethroats. A Greenfinch was observed nest-building while three Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew north.
Lesser Black-backeds on the move
20th April
A very quiet skywatch from St Catherine's Hill this morning was saved at the last minute by a Cuckoo singing down in the meadows below. The 93rd species on the Shalford year list and my 92nd. Kit Britten, meanwhile, was down at ground level at the same time I was up the hill and was rewarded with a very smart male Redstart at St Catherine's Pool - the first of the year here. Sand Martins - three in total - were still whizzing about checking out the railway embankment on the side of the hill while the only apparent movers were singles of Grey Heron and Herring Gull north. A male Sparrowhawk posed briefly in a tree by the hill.
Sparrowhawk
An evening visit to the patch sadly produced neither Cuckoo or Redstart, but a Water Rail squealed at St Catherine's Pool and four House Martins were hawking over the rooftops of Shalford village.
21st April
Another pre-work stroll around the meadows produced the first Garden Warbler of the year singing in the brambles by Dagley Lane allotments. Other bits of note were the Stonechat pair again in St Catherine's Meadow, three Mandarins and at least two Kestrels.
Stonechat
22nd April
A quiet couple of hours down the southern end of the patch was enlivened by a message from Kit Britten who'd just found two Common Sandpipers up at St Catherine's Lock. I raced up to find at least one bird still present although flighty. While we were at the lock five Sand Martins flew north along the river. Kit also informed me he'd just seen one of the adult Stonechats carrying a fecal sac in St Catherine's Meadow - great to confirm breeding here after it was suspected in 2016.
An afternoon skywatch from the Horse Field, meanwhile, produced the first Reed Warbler of the year, singing very occasionally from a dense Blackthorn on the eastern edge of the field. There wasn't a great deal of stuff flying over aside from one Peregrine, two Red Kites, two House Martins and three Swallows.
Another two patch year tick day taking the total Shalford year list to 97 and my own total to 95.
23rd April
A rather quiet afternoon visit after an extended Leith Hill tower migration watch in the morning, though it was nice to catch up with Richard Waters. At least four Buzzards were up and displaying in the warm sunshine along with a single Red Kite. There were plenty of Whitethroats around including two males squabbling in Broom Meadow. A Little Owl was calling in one of the usual Oaks in St Catherine's Meadow, although heard from Railway Triangle. The Stonechat pair were again busy in St Catherine's Meadow while hirundines were represented by six Swallows and four House Martins.
24th April
It was pretty clear a few minutes into this morning's visit there'd been a big arrival of Whitethroats overnight, with at least seventeen singing males just in the St Catherine's/Broadford area alone, one already nest building in brambles by the Horse Field. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet visit with just a singles of Swallow and Sand Martin over and a Skylark singing west of Horse Field.
Whitethroat
25th April
Despite the much colder conditions and north-westerly wind, evidently some migrants were still filtering through as this morning there were apparent new arrivals of Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler, singing by St Catherine's Pool, in Mill Mead Meadow and by the Guildford Park & Ride, respectively. Also of note were five Swallows, the usual two Red-legged Partridge, a singing male Stonechat on Broadford Marsh along with the usual St Catherine's pair plus a dozen Whitethroats, and a Skylark which flew west.
26th April
Clearly an overnight fall of Garden Warblers had occurred with at least four singing around the mid-patch this morning - one by the Horse Field, one by St Catherine's Pool, one in Broom Meadow and one in Mill Mead Meadow. There were at least eleven singing male Whitethroats, while it was good to confirm the presence of two pairs of Stonechat - one in the Railway Triangle and one at St Catherine's. It will be interesting to see if yesterday's singing male at Broadford turns out to be one of a third pair. Overhead, four Herring Gulls flew north while five House Martins moving strongly south-west were surely evading the incoming weather front, and I can't say I blame them!
27th April
A rare day away from the patch for me as I had a lie-in (shocking, I know) then dashed to Island Barn Reservoir after work to twitch the Red-rumped Swallow Dave Harris had just found. A very nice bird indeed - wouldn't mind one of those at Shalford!
Kit did make it down the patch, however and was rewarded with two Garden Warblers, a Sedge Warbler and a showy female Bullfinch, this species continuing to do well here with at least two pairs around.
Bullfinch - Kit Britten
28th April
Rather more clement this morning after some quite severe frosts for the time of year earlier in the week. At St Catherine's Lock I found another flighty Common Sandpiper plus the usual pair of Stonechats. There were three Garden Warblers singing, one Sedge Warbler in Mill Mead Meadow and a dozen Whitethroats around, including one gathering nesting material again. The visit was rounded off nicely by a Peregrine flying over.
After a frustrating medically enforced absence from the patch at the beginning of the month it's been good to get back into the swing of things in recent days and see spring starting to get into gear in this little corner of Surrey, although the persistent north/north-westerly winds are clearly holding a lot of stuff back as I've only added three species to the patch list since my previous round-up post.
The Garganey pair appear to have departed now after staying for at least two weeks - the last confirmed sighting via John Austin on 3rd April. Wildfowl numbers in general have tailed off now, as one would expect for the time of year, with the winter ducks all absent this week and just the local Mallard and Mandarins remaining. Eleven Mallard ducklings on St Catherine's Pool on the 12th were my first here this year.
Garganey - Richard Waters
Garganey - Richard Waters
Following Kit Britten's Swallow on 28th March I finally caught up with this species on patch on the 14th of this month with one flying north followed by four the next day. Kit also had the first patch Sand Martins of the year with two on the 30th. On the 15th there were four of them whizzing around over St Catherine's Hill, occasionally ducking down towards the railway cutting; the highlights of an otherwise pretty uneventful two hour skywatch. I had suspected local breeding last year and have since discovered from Steve Chastell that they've bred in this area in the past, so perhaps they're looking to do so again this year. Fingers crossed.
Sand Martin over St Catherine's
The full set of hirundines was at last completed this morning with four House Martins back on territory over the rooftops by Shalford station - a full two weeks later than in 2016. My 89th patch species of the year; I'm now slightly behind my total for this time last year but still missing a number of relatively easy bits, most notably Green Sandpiper, Great Crested Grebe and Ring-necked Parakeet. I'm aiming to reach at least a hundred before we move house.
Warbler numbers have been increasing steadily, with at least 15 each of Chiffchaff and Blackcap present on the 14th, several of the former already nest building and the latter pairing up. Willow Warbler numbers have been at a consistent three for a few days now, although I've not covered the whole of the patch in a single session for a while so no doubt there have been several I've missed. The first Whitethroat was singing in the scrub just south of the Railway Triangle on the morning of the 12th - the exact spot I had my first one last year. By this morning there were at least six singing around the mid-patch (St Catherine's/Broadford).
Sunrise over Broom Meadow
Gull numbers are dropping now, with Lesser Black-backed the most numerous in recent visits and generally all moving north (7 north on the 14th, 4 north today), with just occasional appearances from Black-headed, Herring and Great Black-backed. The Stonechat pair are still kicking about, usually in or around St Catherine's Meadow, although this morning there was a male in the Railway Triangle. The two Red-legged Partridges, meanwhile, are still to be found most days in the Horse Field which, as yet, has failed to deliver any migrant passerines. Last year I had Redstart and Yellow Wag here in late April so I'm hopeful the next two weeks will produce the goods - just need the wind to change!
Well, what a few days it's been on the patch. The pair of Garganey stayed longer than expected and were enjoyed by at least 50 people. I met and chatted to visiting birders from West Sussex, London and all over Surrey, clearly enticed by some of the fantastic photos of the birds, a few of which I've included below.
Photo: Richard Waters
Photo: Dave Carlsson
Photo: Stevie Minhinnick
Photo: Richard Waters
Photo: Richard Waters
Photo: Richard Waters
Away from the main action on St Catherine's Pool, the first Blackcap (82) of the year was singing near the Dagley Lane allotments early on the 21st, before a more noticeable fall on the 30th when at least five singing males and a female were noted. Early on the 29th the first Willow Warbler of the year was singing by St Catherine's Pool. Chiffchaff numbers are steadily increasing, peaking at an impressive 17 males noted during a patch 'big day' on the 24th - but more on that later.
Chiffchaff - Richard Waters
Wildfowl numbers remain fairly decent with 27 Teal recorded on the 24th and two pairs of Gadwall on the 26th. There were also still two pairs of Shoveler present as of the 28th. There were three Egyptian Geese present in the Broadford area on the 24th, along with the usual numbers of Canada Geese and a single Greylag.
Teal - Richard Waters
Gadwall
Lingering winter visitors include singles of Redpoll over on the 24th, 25th and 27th and just a scattering of Redwing (4 on the 22nd, 3 on the 30th). Two Fieldfare flew west over the Horse Field on the 24th. Meadow Pipit passage is beginning to pick up now with several noted flying north on recent patch visits.
Back to the epic eight hour patch day on the 24th now which saw me notch up a patch record day list of 69 species, including my first Kingfisher (83) of the year, heard calling by the bridge where the Railway Line Walk crosses the river. Other highlights from the day included two Little Egrets flying north and a Firecrest in Mill Mead Meadow while an extended lunchtime skywatch from St Catherine's Hill produced 3 Red Kites, a male Crossbill flying east, an adult Great Black-backed Gull north and a Raven soaring high overhead before doing a couple of barrel rolls and flying west.
Buzzard - Richard Waters
The Little Owl in St Catherine's Meadow has been noticeably more vocal, giving its yelping call from one of the Oaks here both morning and evening on my recent visits.
After finding my first ever patch Red-legged Partridge on the 12th I've seen two together in the Horse Field/Broadford area a couple of times recently. The regular pair of Stonechat are still hanging around near St Catherine's Lock, while on the morning of the 30th a 'new' male was singing by Broadford Bridge.
The first patch Skylark of the year was heard singing to the west of Horse Field early on the 28th, while the first patch hirundine of the year was a Swallow seen by Kit Britten later the same day - exactly the same date as the first one in 2016.
The last week or so has seen a good emergence of the overwintering butterfly species, with Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Red Admiral noted in good numbers, plus a Small or Green-veined White seen briefly on the 26th in Mill Mead Meadow.
Small Tortoiseshell
As a final note on this post, thank you to Shaun Ferguson for producing this new map of the patch which you'll be able to find in 'The local patch' section of the blog, for reference.
After a couple of days' absence from the patch I headed down at first light this morning in less than inviting conditions: drizzle and a brisk south-westerly wind. 'Surely this should drop some migrants though', I thought as I did my usual pre-work circuit of the Broadford/St Catherine's area. There were clearly more Chiffchaffs around, with at least 7 singing despite the inclement weather. Reed Buntings too were in fine voice, and it was good to see the pair of Stonechats again hopping around on the fence near St Catherine's Lock. A scan of the Horse Field produced two Red-legged Partridges; only my second patch record after the single bird I had on the 12th. Heading on down to St Catherine's the drizzle got rather heavier and I scanned the sky every few seconds, expecting to see a hirundine appear at any moment - no luck.
Last stop on my circuit was the usual scan of St Catherine's Pool which produced at least 7 Teal, 3 Gadwall and a couple of Little Grebes. Just as I was about to head off I noticed something else lurking, huddled up in the vegetation at the back: a small duck, and although the light was poor and the angle odd surely that was a head stripe I could see?
As I crept forward slightly to get a better view, the bird(s) in question swam out into open water where I was left in no doubt: an absolutely stonking pair of Garganey! Suffice to say a patch first for me and the first Wey Valley record for 15 years. Certainly a species I'd dreamt of finding on patch but still a magical find. I fired off a couple of record shots before contacting a few people and putting the news on Twitter. At work during the morning I received various reports from local birders including Steve Chastell, Richard Waters (who got some excellent photos) and fellow Albury SP surveyor John Austin who'd been and connected and, heading back myself this evening, I was pleased to see so many familiar and new faces. Sadly by the time I got back to the pool the birds had gone back into hiding in the vegetation and a few visiting birders left without seeing them. I'll be back to check first thing in the morning but with a clear night ahead I suspect they may move on. Still, a fantastic bird to find locally and what a way to ring up my 80th* patch species of the year!
Photo: Richard Waters
Photo: Richard Waters
* Whoops, actually my 81st - completely forgot to add Redpoll after my skywatch on the 17th!
7th March
Fairly standard fare from this evening's patch visit, though most notable was the presence of a vocal pair of Stonechats in St Catherine's Meadow, the male even uttering a few phrases of song at dusk; not something I've heard on patch before. My discovery last June of a very young juvenile had led Steve Chastell to suggest they may have bred very locally - perhaps they are looking to do so again.
9th March
Another after work patch visit at the end of one of the first truly warm days of the year so far (top temperature 19c) and arrived to find the meadows still ringing with bird song. A flock of c.200 Common Gulls flew north together in a tight flock; one of my largest counts of this species here. A Carrion Crow was carrying nesting material to one of the 'Little Owl Oaks' in St Catherine's Meadow. On St Catherine's Pool there were the usual pair of Gadwall, 3 Little Grebes and 4 Coots. 50+ Linnets flew into roost in Broom Meadow; a record count for this species here.
11th March
A late afternoon visit with my girlfriend produced the first singing Chiffchaff of the year in Mill Meadow Meadow, along with a pair of Gadwall in the same area. St Catherine's Pool held a pair of Gadwall, 2 Grey Herons, 4 Teal and 3 Little Grebes.
12th March
WeBS day and first stop was Winkworth Arboretum with Ed Stubbs. Rowe's Flashe Lake held 11 Tufted Ducks (highest count so far here this year), 2 Little Grebes, 3 Mandarin Ducks and a Bar-headed Goose (!) while a Water Rail squealed as we crossed the Phillimore Wetland boardwalk. At least 3 Chiffchaffs were singing while near the boathouse we heard a Firecrest.
Next it was on to Shalford for my most thorough exploration of the patch for a couple of weeks which produced a year tick and a patch lifer for me.
After finding little on the outflow stream from Broadford Marsh I headed past Horse Field along the Railway Line Walk. There were the usual scattering of Pheasants in the field but one instantly jumped out as being different - a Red-legged Partridge! My first ever on the patch and only the third documented record here (previous records in 2004 and 2007). Hardly a surprise given the amount of shooting estates around here but a nice addition to the year list nonetheless. Typically for this species it sprinted off and disappeared into the bushes before I could even reach for my camera.
Moving down the river to the St Catherine's area I found my second year tick of the morning: a drake Tufted Duck (79) on St Catherine's Pool. Not a particularly regular sight here given the rather unsuitable habitat. Just the previous day the Leith Hill guys and I had been chatting about this species' migratory habits and, as I mentioned earlier, Ed and I had noted a clear increase in numbers at Winkworth earlier in the day. Clearly some movement of this species had occurred overnight.
Away from the water birds the highlights of this morning's visit were two singing Chiffchaffs and at least six singing Reed Buntings.
Tufted Duck
Gadwall
14th March
The first pre-work sky watch of the year from St Catherine's Hill and the first one I've done in co-ordination with Ed who was positioned a few miles south on his Allden's Hill watchpoint.
As we exchanged texts throughout the session it initially seemed like there was little correlation between what we were both seeing - '22 Black-headed Gulls south'.... '0 BHGs!' - but gradually things started to fall into place as I picked up the trickle of Meadow Pipits Ed had reported heading my way, followed by a heard-only Redpoll (Ed had five north a little while earlier) and most notably a full adult monster of a Great Black-backed Gull which cruised over my watchpoint around 14 minutes after Ed saw it flying north over Thorncombe Park.
Full totals as follows (in order of appearance):
Little Egret - 1 north but likely only local movement
Chiffchaff - 2 singing by watch point
Canada Goose - 9 east
Herring Gull - c60 north/2 south
Pied Wagtail - 1 south
Black-headed Gull - 88 south/4 north
Starling - 20 high north-east/6 east
Grey Heron - 1 north
Cormorant - 1 south
Greylag Goose - 1 south/2 west
Common Gull - 4 south
Egyptian Goose - 1 south-west
Meadow Pipit - 1 south/6 north
Redwing - 3 north-west
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2 north
Gadwall - 1 drake flew past low with Mallards
Great Black-backed Gull - 1 north
Redpoll - heard going north
Mute Swan - 1 immature north
Greylag Goose
Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Grey Heron
16th March
Ed and I had planned another co-ordinated sky watch this morning but, after waking up to pretty thick fog, I decided instead to just do a little pre-work circuit of the mid-patch (Broadford-St Catherine's). There were now at least half a dozen Chiffchaffs singing and a similar number of Reed Buntings. The winter species are still hanging on though with at least a dozen each of Teal and Redwing still around this morning. A pair of Cormorants on the navigation at St Catherine's Lock was quite an unusual sight, this species usually seen either perched in trees or flying over in this area, while the regular pair of Gadwall were still on St Catherine's Pool.
In other local birding news, I saw my first Sand Martins of the year today, with four flying west along the Tillingbourne seen from the hill behind my house in Chilworth. The fields in this area were still holding a scattering of Redwings as of this morning also. I'm seeing Red Kites all over the place at the moment, with at least three over the Clandon Downs this afternoon then four together low over the rooftops of Chilworth. Marsh Tits and Skylarks were singing on the Downs despite the brisk westerly wind.
Fingers crossed migrants will really start arriving in numbers in the next couple of weeks, although looking at the forecast for this coming week doesn't exactly fill me with optimism!
A couple of reasonably productive after work visits, making use of the lengthening daylight hours. St Catherine's Pool was notably busy on the 2nd with an unusually high count of four very vocal Little Grebes, the now regular pair of Egyptian Geese, three each of Coot and Moorhen plus a drake Gadwall with at least twenty Mallards - this only my second patch Gadwall record of this year.
The evening of the 3rd, meanwhile, at last delivered my first patch Tawny Owl (76) of the year with both male and female calls coming from the 'Pine Island' area east of Broom Meadow (see map). Also of note were a Little Egret north and a record count of at least thirty-six Magpies into roost.
4th March
A dawn start for a ninety minute skywatch from St Catherine's Hill produced a proliferation of gulls: 225 Black-headed, 32 Common and a new patch high count of 271 Herring Gulls, all south, plus a single adult Lesser Black-backed north. This isn't the first time I've noticed LBBGs following a different track to the main flow of gulls. Also of note were 27 Pied Wagtails south, two Kestrels (one high east and another local bird displaying), three Greylags south - one very high - and two Peregrines. There was the usual loud chatter from the Siskin flock in the Alders below the hill but it was very difficult to get a good estimate of numbers.
Herring Gulls over St Catherine's Hill
From St Catherine's I headed straight to Albury Sandpit where I met up with John A and Dave G for our regular fortnightly survey of this site. The highlights here were at least four Skylarks (two singing), four Kestrels getting territorial, two Red-legged Partridges, a flyover Redpoll and circa thirty Meadow Pipits.
Skylark
Back home I had a Red Kite and nine Redpoll over my Chilworth garden - one of the highest numbers of the latter species I've seen in what seems to have been a pretty poor winter for them, in this part of the world at least.
5th March
The planned Leith Hill tower watch was sadly postponed due to the inclement weather (although Wes A put in a Spartan hour up there on his own in the pouring rain!) so I headed to the patch late morning and was pleased to see more standing water around after the rain. In Mill Mead Meadow I was watching a few Teal when a familiar 'huweet' drew my attention to a very fresh-looking Chiffchaff working its way through the riverside Alders. Hard to say if this is a rather early arrival or a wintering individual moving through but it was a very welcome taste of spring all the same and takes my Shalford year list to 77, so I'm now level pegging with my total for the same time last year.
There was still one Little Grebe pair on St Catherine's Pool but otherwise not much in this area so I headed down towards Broadford Marsh which was also very quiet apart from a singing Reed Bunting. After sheltering from a heavy downpour in this area I twice could've sworn I heard a Sand Martin call but unfortunately didn't see any to confirm it wasn't just wishful thinking - won't be long now anyway!
Also of note from today's visit were two Red Kites east together, four Buzzards (making use of the sunshine between the showers), at least fifteen Redwing, a similar number of Teal and a single drake Shoveler.
