migration in full swing now, the lake has been picking up and i was thinking it was looking ripe for something really good to turn up and it did in the form of a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope a few days back (still present as i type)
yes, that tiny little bird next to the black-headed gull is a swimming wader
phalaropes, it's their thing (not my pic, one of the local lads
https://twitter.com/bri66thomp)
the main thing though is we're into the autumn migration proper now for the next few months and that's always exciting times in hoping what you might get, something genuinely rare is of course the icing on the cake but just knowing birds we dont get to see normally are moving through the country and what's at the lake can change daily is what it's all about for me (which goes for any location in the uk now, whether that be your garden or your local walk)
like yesterday, with the RN Phalarope and Osprey performing well and with black terns, three species of egret, avocet, wood sands and a nice cast of other waders present, it was a wonderful Spotted Flycatcher quietly going about its business in the car park, as i arrived to my main haunt on the patch, that was my bird of the day
birding, funny old game saint
oh, and i had another 8 raptor species day at the lake (only my third time of managing that ever at the lake) with:
Osprey
Red Kite
Marsh Harrier
Buzzards galore
5 Sparrowhawk
2 Kestrel
2 Hobby
2 Peregrine
I try for this so many times it's always a thrill when i manage it, when you think about, there isn't a place in the UK where you can
guarantee seeing 8 species of raptor on any given day, so it's always a buzz. That's what i love about patch/local birding, it doesnt have to be nationally rare or anything, just something that for your little part of the world is special to you.