A walk around the river meadow at The Wolseley Centre was full of butterflies. At least six peacocks and eleven small tortoiseshells jostled for the best position in the sun, usually amongst themselves but the odd feisty small tort wouldn't shy away from a bigger challenge. An orange-tip and an unexpected brimstone completed the tally.
Earlier in the day news broke of an avocet "swimming" at Blithfield Reservoir, just a few miles form the office. Out of curiosity I took the long way home to see how a wader copes with 'the deep end'. On arrival the bird was in flight, circling above the reservoir and calling. Eventually it dropped back down on to the water nearer the causeway. No sooner did I arrive back on Watery Lane did the bird take flight again back towards the dam.
Not wanting to play follow the avocet I headed for Cannock Chase and the north end of the Sherbrook Valley in the hope that a redstart or tree pipit might be around. Sadly my evening ramble produced little more than willow warblers and treecreepers, brilliant birds in their own right but not the sign of spring I was after. On heading back to the car 5 brambling added to my list of 'things I didn't expect', cracking birds and possibly the last I'll see for a few months.
Elsewhere a green sandpiper was on the pool in the Trent Meadows at Navigation Farm near Little Haywood, along with a pair of oystercatcher and a couple of lapwing. This time, all were expected
No comments:
Post a Comment