Waders

 A return to the county today in the company of Alan Shorrock with a visit to Summer Leys on the agenda. We began at Hardwater Lake before moving on to the reserve where we enjoyed a steady if none too exciting session. While it was sunny for the most part a cool breeze served to remind us that it is still only mid April and that it's not quite time to ditch the jumper just yet.

Bar-tailed Godwits.

At hardwater Lake I began by adding Common Tern to my year list, there must have been quite an arrival recently as there were quite a few in the area. Less numerous but rather more interesting were a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits which divided their time between the margins of the lake and the grassy field which surrounds it. Although they were often fairly distant we did get decent views of them before we moved on to the reserve.

Distant Greenshank, closer Oystercatcher.

Our first impressions of the reserve were far from positive as we struggled to find much of interest. It was only when we got to Paul Britten Hide that things picked up and it was down to the discovery of a few waders on the far shore of the main lake. First up was a male Ruff moulting into summer plumage, a second bird which I judged to be a reeve was seen a little later on. A Greenshank was then found and it seemed to spend as much time snoozing as it did feeding. Four Snipe then appeared though they didn't seem to hang around too long before moving on. There were not many other highlights to report other than several Sedge Warblers and a Whitethroat while butterflies were represented by Brimstones, Orange-tip, Small and Green-veined Whites and Peacock.

Sedge Warbler.