I hadn’t been to Adwick Washlands for quite some time, and as it was a sunny day I decided it was time for my first visit of 2016.
The water levels on the reserve are still higher than usual, so i didn’t see any waders at all today. That’s a shame because you can normally get quite close to them ar Adwick, as i did last year when the fabulous, and quite rare, Pectoral Sandpiper was here for a few days. The reserve is looking well just now though, and is ready to host this year’s breeding season. The gulls are gathering here now, so it’ll not be long now!
Birds-wise there wasn’t a lot around today, but i saw a rather nice flying display by a Lapwing, and then a Little Egret flew past me too.
Since Old Moor is only a couple of miles away, I went there next.
Two particular highlights stood out for me here today. First, the Mediterranean Gull (which I couldn’t spot last time) was back in its usual place on the island in front of the Family Hide. As i watched it, it took off and flew over in the direction of the Wader Scrape, giving me an opportunity to capture a couple of shots of it in flight, albeit a bit distant, however!
Mediterranean Gull – with some wing damage.
The second notable occurrence was a pair of Little Grebes which were flirting with each other in front of the Field Pool West Hide. I’d never heard them make such a loud noise before! One of them had caught a small fish and proceeded to fling it up in the air a couple of times before picking it up again from the water’s surface, the little show-off! I later realised that there had been little chance of the fish escaping, however, since the grebe had already decapitated it by that time!
Two good sightings then; another successful birding trip blogged-up!
Alan's Ramblings 