Friday 12 September 2008

September 12th 2008

The Grey Phalarope found by Bob Hazell was a good reward for the effort he puts in at Draycote and I was looking forward to seeing it once I had finished some domestic chores this morning. Big bloody mistake as it soon became obvious on my second lap that it was not around this afternoon. The bonus and you have to have a warped sense of humour like mine to appreciate it, but I was witnessing what can only be described as the mother ****** of all downpours. The heaviest rain I have seen and it went on for over two hours causing major local flooding. I had seen Tim Marlow earlier on draycote bank so appreciated his call to say there was an Osprey out in centre fishing despite the rain and when I reached the cafe managed to show it to the wardens as it came in very close. Later on I was joined by John Judge for coffee but as the rain did not stop he had to go and then the cafe closed so had no other choice than to bare the brunt of the storm - soaked. Once the rain stopped managed to add a few more birds to my day list and the highlights were Black Tern 3, Common Tern, Common Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail 11, Common Redstart in sailing club car park, Shag 4 immatures, Wigeon 2, Common Scoter female, Spotted flycatcher biggen bay, Wheatear 5 and Swift 2 equalling my 4th latest record for this species. The bike ride home was home was chaotic with many roads flooded and some very inconsiderate drivers.

Richard

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