Willowbrook Wheatears

 Having got back from Norfolk with a bit of time to spare I decided to repeat Sunday's walk and so headed along to Weldon on the X4. On the A43 pond Tufted Duck numbers have risen to eighteen and a newly arrived pair of Mute Swans means that the pair of Canada Geese that looked to be settling in will be forced to move on.  Passerine interest was provided by a Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff.

Ringed Plovers

I then moved on to check on the Ringed Plovers and bumped into Alan Shorrock as I did so. We had views of a pair which were quite distant from us and I also saw a Brown Hare there too. Leaving Shozzer and the plovers behind I set off for Willowbrook Industrial to check for Wheatears. Luck favoured me today as I found five without too much effort, they may have been grounded by one of the many heavy showers. Good though quite distant views were obtained before I headed along to Priors Hall.

Wheatears

The North Gullet is still paying host to the pair of Stonechats though they didn't show well or for long before they disappeared. Also present again was a songflighting Meadow Pipit, it will be nice if this one sticks around as they're a scarce breeding species in the county. The South Gullet was quieter with just a few Sand Martins and a small herd of Fallow Deer to report. The weather was beginning to look a little more threatening and I opted to head back to Weldon where a few pints in the George made my wait for the bus quite enjoyable.

Fallow Deer