Monsoon Madness

 I'm having to do one of my contractual back shifts this week which always entails me having to work the Saturday too. Something to offset the awfulness of this however comes in the shape of a lieu day which happily for me fell today. News of a Red-throated Diver at Ravensthorpe Reservoir earlier in the week had me offering silent prayers up to the birding gods and luckily those pleas seem to have been heard as the bird was still present yesterday evening. I managed to convince Alan that seeing the diver would be a jolly fine thing and we found ourselves heading over there this morning.

Stonechat and Ring-necked Duck

When I was praying to those birding gods I should perhaps have copied the weather gods in too as conditions were far from ideal when we arrived at the closed off car park next to the causeway. With a steady rain falling we scanned the res from the area without positive result and took the path towards the dam. Squelching our way along the path turned quagmire we stopped at regular intervals to look for the diver but with no result. A look from one side of the dam did finally deliver the goods and we had some distant but pretty good views before it disappeared from view. From halfway along the dam the diver reappeared momentarily before once again becoming invisible. More prolonged views of the bird bathing and preening came from the scant shelter offered by a Yew tree next to the fishing lodge though the weather remained too foul to risk my camera in. About forty-five minutes later we opted to throw in the soggy towel and head back towards the car.

Red-necked Wallaby and Great Northern Diver

The return walk/wade produced further distant views of the diver as it moved around the res presumably making serious inroads into the local crayfish population. At no point did the rain stop so photos were very much out of the question but just seeing my first Red-throat in the county was enough to justify our visit. We decided to resist the urge to pop in on the Common Scoters at neighbouring Hollowell in the belief that lunch in the 'spoons might better serve our immediate needs. My next day off is on Sunday which is looking like yet another brolly day so whether I choose birding or pub is yet to be confirmed. Today's pics come from a previous outing.

Glossy Ibis