A very snowy hike around Barmston today centred largely on the reedbed trying to eek out tricky species and it was pretty successful. Numbers of Snipe were up from odd ones and twos to 11 that I flushed. In with these was the first of two star birds a fine Jack Snipe which flushed from much closer and dropped back in quickly about 20 yards away whereas the Snipe all towered before dropping on the other side of the reedbed. A few Skylarks were also seeking shelter as was a female Pheasant which isnt that easy to connect with on patch. A couple of Hares also flushed from their hideaways in the reeds giving views like this...
I dropped onto the beach and amongst the Turnstones was a slighly tricky for the site Redshank. Probably regular but I dont remember seeing any here before. Walking along and what looked like a Moorhen was skulking at the top of the beach just below the entrance to a farm drain. Bins up and it is a Water Rail. Absolute gold - and on the beach. I am sure they occur often in the reedbed but they are very hard to see so I couldn't believe my luck. Just the reason to check it today. It flushed into the drain but remarkably was back again when I returned.
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| Showy in the Snow |
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| Lovely light but the lens wasnt keen on the cold. |
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