A
Siskin flew over the garden early this morning.
I checked the beach first, where two female
Wheatears were on the rocks
and six
Mediterranean Gulls flew past. A passing jogger stopped and
turned out to be Nick Oliver, who'd heard a reeling Grasshopper Warbler
near the boardwalk in the park. I instantly made my way there but
couldn't hear the bird and, not wanting to loiter, embarked on my usual
route. A
Yellow Wagtail flew over then surprised me by doubling back and
landing in the trees in the southeast corner. A
Sedge Warbler and a
Reed Warbler were singing, the latter being a local yeartick but only
the former glimpsed. I'd lost hope of connecting with the recent
Gadwall
here but a drake appeared while listening again for the Gropper later
(Mike and Karen Galtry had heard it again). Another local yeartick and
some level of consolation for the lacking Locustella.
Two pairs
of
Jays flew together in the same area I saw them doing the same thing
on a recent visit. A
Mallard had at least 10 ducklings. Other
observations included the male
Mute Swan (the female presumably unseen
on the nest), a
Grey Heron, three
Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a
Sparrowhawk, six
Swallows, two singing
Cetti's Warblers (one at long
last giving decent views), three
Willow Warblers, a
Grey
Wagtail and a singing
Goldcrest. A
Sandwich Tern flew past as I made my
way back to the bike.
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| female Wheatears on the beach at Brooklands Park |
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| female Yellow Wagtail at Brooklands Park |
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| drake Gadwall at Brooklands Park |
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| 2cy Cormorant at Brooklands Park |
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| adult Grey Heron at Brooklands Park |
In the evening I heard one of the local
Peregrines from the garden then a short while later while passing Manor Lea I saw the male on the west face.
A return to Brooklands in the evening made no further progress with the
desired Locustella but a
Reed Bunting was singing. Several bats were
active too.
