Wheatear and Little Ringed Plover

Struggled in via Orton and Beeby's BP and picked up Wheatear at the first and Little Ringed Plover at the second.

107 Wheatear
108 Little Ringed Plover

Swallow

2 this morning with about 30 Sand Martins on Gunwade Lake.

106 Swallow

Rock Pipit

Found this bird in the traditional location on the rocky shore of Gunwade Lake this morning.

105 Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus

Canon EOS 500D EF 70-300mm IS USM

Little Gull and House Martin

Three adult winter Little Gulls were an excellent find for Mike Weedon this morning on Gunwade Lake at Ferry Meadows. While watching them a party of 6 Sand Martins and a rather early House Martin dropped in briefly.

103 Little Gull
104 House Martin

Little Gull Hydrocoloeus minutus, adult winter



Canon EOS 500D EF 70-300mm IS USM

Sand Martin

Went looking for a party of Waxwings reported at the Town Bridge but no luck. The two Sand Martins seen there earlier in the day were around however.

102 Sand Martin

Five ticks

A long ride this morning to the end of the central drove on the Nene Washes. The main target, Water Pipit (a species I failed to see last year), performed OK but there was no sign of any of the other good birds on offer there at the moment.

97 Chiffchaff
98 Oystercatcher
99 Black-tailed Godwit
100 Dunlin
101 Water Pipit

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

My first ride to Castor Hanglands this year was successful with a corking male drumming close by within half an hour of arriving. It soon moved on however and there was no further sign for the next half hour.

96 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Ringed Plover

Although the star of the show this morning was a fabulous Stoat in Ermine at Orton BP I did get one year tick at Beeby's BP.

95 Ringed Plover

Bittern

Two ticks today. One expected the other less so. I'm sure I've had the odd Linnet already this year but coming across a flock of 50 put them firmly on the list. It was a big surprise to see a Bittern feeding out in the open in front of me just afterwards.

93 Linnet
94 Bittern