Will they stop?

Saturday morning with No1 son, parking today at the Albyns Farm car park. Fieldfare, Redwing, Pheasant, Great Spotted Woodpecker all before we got to Tit lake.

 

I was on a Siskin hunt today and had full intentions on spending the morning over the Berwick Side.

 

Tit Lake was busy, Canada Geese, Cormormant x2, Greylag, Coot, Moorhen, Black Headed Gull x23 and Tufted Duck.

 

By the time we got to the Lower Paddock he wanted out, so off he went around the Glades, only to find when i took my eyes off a small group off Greenfinch him standing at my side, head skyward with his hands forming an imaginary set of bins.

 

The rain came in and after chasing him about for a couple of minutes (didnt put to much effort in he was having fun in the rain), i strapped him back in the buggy and we headed off towards Berwick.

 

Berwick was good although not for Siskin, first i heard one, then another. I edged towards the area it had come from and sure enough, pottering around the margins a Water Rail. Shortly spooked by No1 son shouting "duck, quack quack".

 

The Valley just keeps giving up the goods for me of late - when will it stop?

 

courtesy of www.animalphotos.me
 

Also had a group of 9 waders fly in to the main flood field by the small pond, unfortunatley in my excitement i missed getting a good look and identifibale features and then lost to the vegetation.

Smallish sized, light underneath, light to mid brown on top, downturned bill. Suggestions of Dunlin came in after a quick text out and after a wade through the Colins, they do seem most likely to fit what i saw. Shame really as if it were Dunlin that would have been another for my patch list.

The Valley list creeps closer to the 100 for both life and 2012.