Not through want of trying

Today saw a 12-hour birding session at one of my former regular patches - Holmethorpe Sand Pits. It was a day orchestrated by a chill north-easterly breeze, dirty grey cloud and frequent light rain showers. It ended with me feeling damp, achy and underwhelmed. I was joined in this most worthy of ornithological quests by 'Mr. Holmethorpe' himself, Gordon Hay. We tried. Honestly, we tried...

The area is characterised by several waterbodies, farmland, copse and a barren ridge that was once landfill. Our list of today's 'highlights' will not overly impress - 1 Little Egret, 2 Teal, 3 Gadwall, a Little Ringed Plover, a Lapwing, a Common Snipe, a Greenshank (above), a Common Sandpiper, 15 Swift, a Kingfisher, 150+ Sand Martin, 50+ Swallow, 25+ House Martin, 5 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Cetti's Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 8 Common Whitethroat, 30+ Blackcap, 4 Garden Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler and 10+ Yellowhammer. Hardly a red-letter day. We kept at it, especially after the Beddington Boys (10 miles to the north) had two Arctic Skuas sail by. Such is birding. On another day, it could have been our glory - at least, that what we are telling ourselves.

Comments

Derek Faulkner said…
Presumably your "won't take long " list was tongue in cheek. I imagine many birdwatchers would be well chuffed with that list, I would.
29 April 2021 at 05:41
Steve Gale said…
Your point was timely Derek, as I used the wrong phrase there and have corrected it - although most probably not the one that you would use!
29 April 2021 at 08:47
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