Bird watching always feels like a race against time and I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to chasing birds. Nevertheless, when Martin informed me that a Greenshank was at Longham I knew I had to see it.
I saw it a few days later of course, after meeting up with Martin and his son. Luckily it was still there, but it was far out in the middle of South Lake, making me once again regret not owning a swanky spotting scope.
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| It's a poor shot of a Greenshank, but it's a first for Longham. |
There were four Garganey on the lakes as well, but we couldn't find them for love nor money. With my youngest daughter getting impatient I decided to head home. 40 minutes later, Martin tweeted that they were on the lake. Balls!
I headed off to Longham for my birthday on the 31st of August, but aside from a fleeting glimpse of a Jay (my first for the year) it was relatively quiet. I watched a Kestrel hunt for a few moments, but a momentary swell of rain saw us all running for the car. The Garganey would have to wait.
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| Kestrel, hunting over the lakes. Lovely looking bird. |
I headed off again on the 1st of September as Martin notified me that a Ruff was on the lake and that the Garganey were still there. I hunted through the crowds of Gadwall and Mallards, but those tiny ducks were nowhere to be seen.
I did find the Ruff though, as well as a Willow Warbler, which was another new bird for me.
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| Here's the Ruff, with some Black-Headed Gulls for scale. |
I'm now on
82 birds for the year, which is a personal best for me.
The Ruff now puts me at
153 photographed birds for the blog :)
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A rather fuzzy Wood Warbler.
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One of several Chiffchaff I saw.
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| One of the farm cats was on the prowl. |
