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| male Whinchat |
At 8.00am, before college, I was surprised to see a male
Ring Ouzel at the favourite hangout of 'Pinchy' but I wasn't close enough to see his characteristic pinch to confirm that he's still here and not been replaced. If it is him, he's been playing hard to get over the last three or four days. I met Richard Horton and Rich Sergeant as I was leaving and I later heard that they'd seen the/an ouzel near the farmhouse and found a male
Whinchat! I rushed up late afternoon and found the bird showing and feeding well along the wire fence bordering Horse Pasture and Broadfield (a traditional spot for this species). A fine example of a spring Whinchat and rather unexpected... I thought we'd have to wait a while seeing as there's been very few reports of this migrant in general.
We're still missing House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Swift, Hobby and Garden Warbler and perhaps should have expected a Grasshopper Warbler by now. Things do seem to be taking their time this year; at least it might mean that the spring will be a little more drawn out.
