Northern Golden Plovers (DSLR)
- like Grey Plovers with white armpits.
It was a lovely day today (6.4.07), and with the family on tour this week, I took the opportunity to scrounge some local birding time with my friends Ray and Will Bowell (see Will's Adlib Blog doubtless for more pics). We started early at Old Sulehay, and though we didn't see any Lesser Spodepeckers, there were still plenty of delightfully noisy Yaffles and a few Great Spots, Nu-thatches and Treeclepeepers to keep us happy. There was also a singing Chiffchaff and a singing Blackcap.
Northern Golden Plovers (digiscope)
On to Maxey, where there were now:
Little Ringed Plover, 12 (6 pairs),
Ringed Plover, 6, (at least),
Green Sandpiper, 4, (at least),
Redhsnk, 5 (at least)
Golden Plover, c2,000,
Jack Snipe, 1,
Goldeneye, 1,
Sand Martin, 1 over
Jack Snipe (DSLR)
Northern Golden Plovers come to land (DSLR)
We then headed down to the Nene Washes. The Avocet population has spiralled to 8 (four pairs) on Field 12, and there are still some 1,000-1500 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits gathering. Breeding waders are getting on with it (despite a certain amount of promising [for birders] flooding) and a Water Pipit gave brief flight views and called. Also of note were a Ruff and a Reeve and two winter Dunlins. We also had my first white butterflies of the year, here and at Sulehay (though now I think about it I had one on 5.4.07 near my homw in Peterborough).
Female Black-tailed Godwit (digiscope)
Male Black-tailed Godwit (digiscope)
Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits (DSLR).
Click it, it looks strangely like a painting to me...
... Oh, and we were not entirely welcomed by one of the nesting Mute Swan pairs...
Mute Swan (DSLR)
Finally, we hit Blackbush to search for Wheateaters and perhaps Grey Partridges and certainly Corn Buntings. There were none of the first, none of the latter, but a pair of Grey Partridges were just close enough to photograph.
Grey Partridges from the car window (DSLR)
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