Migrants

 Alan Shorrock and I paid a call on the Titchmarsh nature reserve this morning hoping to catch up with any incoming summer migrants. The weather stayed dry with the occasional sunny spell and it felt springlike as the country braced itself for the arrival of storm Dave. Our efforts were rewarded with some success but overall the results were a little underwhelming.

Sedge Warbler

Initially we struggled to find much of note, a quartet of Snipe near the north hide providing an isolated early highlight. Blackcaps appeared to have arrived in good numbers and we heard many on our circuit of the site. Near the iron bridge where the town lake joins the reserve we heard one and then another Sedge Warbler. One bird in particular was quite obliging and I managed to get several photographs before we moved on. As we walked back towards the car park Shozzer picked out a Swallow which was my first of the year narrowly beating several Sand Martins, which we saw near their artificial nest site, on to my year list. Nothing else appeared to delay us from taking a trip to the Dukes in Woodford for a welcome pint.