Dotterel Dip Soon Forgotten

 I ventured out with my brother today over to the RSPB reserve at Lakenheath in Suffolk though not before we took a diversion to the Northants village of Hemington where a Dotterel had been seen yesterday. A beautiful sunrise was followed by a warm and sunny day and while we suffered a dip at the beginning of proceedings most of the day worked out just fine.

Yellow Wagtail and snoozing Garganey

As the title suggests our efforts to find the Dotterel met with failure even though we put quite a lot of effort into finding it. Clear skies and light winds may well have been enough to persuade it to move on. Our stop was not a total waste of time however as two Yellow Wagtails feeding in the plover's favoured pea field were my first of the year.

Hairy Dragonfly and Variable Damselfly.

Lakenheath more than made up for the dippy start as we saw a great selection of both birds and damsels during our walk around. Firstly we stopped at the wash where we saw a selection of waders of which three Wood Sandpipers were the highlights. Also present were a Greenshank, four Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew, some Lapwings and a few Redshanks. A scan through the numbers of Teals produced two drake Garganeys taking what turned out to be a lengthy nap. Other good records soon followed with first a Bittern and then Bearded Tits as we made our way through the reserve. The Bearded Tits and Water Rails were heard but not seen though at least one of several Cuckoos in the area did show. A minimum of three and possibly five Cranes were seen in their favourite spots where several Hobbies were also observed. The good and warm conditions brought a few odes out and I saw my first Hairy Dragonfly of the year. Other stars on show included Common Blue, Azure, Variable and Large Red Damselflies. Nothing too exciting amongst the butterflies though my brother saw his first Brimstone of the year. Heat haze ruled out taking many bird pics but some of the ode pics worked out OK. 

Azure, Large Red and Common Blue Damselflies.