Common Black-headed Gull (adult summer)
The site is quite large and has large grass areas surrounded by some tall trees. The grass areas had large spray heads which are always good sites to see bird sitting on top of them. This site was no exception with Daurian Shriek, Siberian Stonechat and Pied Wheatear all sitting on the sprays heads and using them as vantage points for hunting food.
Pied Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
The grass areas were quite wet and had 100+ Water Pipits and 26 White Wagtails busily feeding on them. One Song Thrush was feeding in the leaf litter under the tress and several Rock Dove and Collard Doves were also feeding on the grass. To the edge of the grass area was a large depression where earth has been dug out and this had water in the bottom that had three Common Snipe and a single Isabelline Wheatear. Wheatears are deffinately starting to move through the area now and their numbers should build up over the next few weeks and a few more spcies also arrive such as Northern Wheatear and Black-eared Wheatear.
Common Snipe
Common Snipe in flight
Isabelline Wheatear
The best place in the area was a medium sized pool that had quite a bit of vegetation growing around it and this held a few waders including one Common Ringed Plover, one Common Sandpiper, two Common Redshank, three Green Sandpipers, eight Black-winged Stilt and nine Common Snipe. A single Grey Wagtail was also feeding along the edge of this pond and this is the first Grey Wagtail I have seen since last spring.
Black-winged Stilt