On Friday 10th of April, there was a lot of movement of migrants coming in on the South coast -mainly Ring Ouzel - but also really good numbers of Hoopoe in the South West, and a few Garganey were also being found, so, while out on Saturday morning putting up a couple of owl boxes with my good mate Paul Riddle, I got a message from Ben Croxall that our mate Nick had found 3 probably 4 Ring Ouzels at my local patch Brascote GP. Not having seen this bird at Brascote before, (in fact I must find out whether they have ever been recorded there) it was quickly on with the job in hand! The owl boxes were soon in position, so Paul and I made a quick exit for home, and planned to meet up at Brascote GP asap, which is what we did! We arrived at the site and there were a few familiar faces there already, viewing two male Ring Ouzels in an hedge line running up the field - absolutely stunning birds! I took a few record images - the birds never came close enough for good images.
The image below is very heavily cropped, but a really good patch tick. The birds did fly off in an northerly direction, and we thought they had gone - but they were seen again later that evening and there has been 2 there now for the last several days, along with a few Wheatear who have joined them.
Ring Ouzel
Whilst there, I had my first singing Blackcap of 2015, and the day before my first singing Chiffchaff - which obligingly posed for a decent image!
Now, for a long time, my birding buddy Pete Asher (my mentor) and I have said that this site is ideal for Garganey, so it was no surprise when, on Tuesday, I got a message from Ben Croxall that Allan Pocock had found a pair of Garganey on one of the old settling pools - trouble was, I could not get there till Wednesday morning due to work and other commitments, so at first light the next day, I was at the pool waiting for my second patch tick in as many days - but they must have decided to leave the previous evening, which was a warm and clear night, so I will just have to wait for the next one to come along, and hopefully I will be the finder!
As always thanks for stopping by...........
