I hoped to get another look at the Glossy Ibis today and improve my own photos.
It was cold, grey and windy. The forecast said that there was only a 1% chance of rain yet I needed to retreat to the car to escape it. At just after sunrise 16 Little Egrets, probably part of a roosting party from Sowley Pond, arrived from the west. As they got to the Reedy Ditch they split up into three separate groups. A Goshawk appeared briefly just south of the two linked wooded areas where I believe they nest.
It’s likely that there is a Hawfinch roost site just south of here and so I was checking every flying passerine, there weren’t many in the poor weather and every finch was a Chaffinch.
It was now well after 8am and on the previous two mornings the ibis had appeared by now. It became clear that it was feeding elsewhere or had left altogether. There was no sign on any of the three occasions I spent time in the Reedy Ditch or JV areas.
Bullfinch, Buzzard and Goldcrest photos by Ian Williamson
In the fields alongside the walking trail a group of 25 Pied Wagtails flicked around nervously in the grass while 15 Redwing moved along the base of the hedge behind them. There were at least 50 Knot in the wader roost from the sailing club and a Water Rail flew across in front of the car as I drove past S Hide.
I stopped briefly at P Shore where the four Russian White-fronted Geese were still present near the Farm Buildings.
Patch Birding 