The wind hindered play today and Goring Gap was quiet, with a
Swift, five
Blackcaps and a
Whitethroat among the very few birds noted mid-morning. Ingrid and I walked to Brooklands Park and back late afternoon, where we had the
Mute Swan family, a
Cetti's Warbler, a
Grey Wagtail, two
Reed Warblers and two
Lesser Black-backed Gulls, while young
Mallards were mostly full-grown and hanging around in gangs and drakes were entering alternate plumage. One of the cygnets stood out as it was left behind when the rest of the family ventured off the main island to feed; as it caught up it swan slightly unsteadily and looked subtly smaller but soon began feeding well so will hopefully be okay. The only
Coot brood - of five - was still going strong. As we left, a procession of at least 48
Swifts arrived off the sea.
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| Mute Swans at Brooklands Park |
