The plan was to visit Brandon Marsh and then move on to Draycote Water late afternoon for the Gull roost. It was such a pleasant day, birding anywhere would have been a pleasure. A pair of Willow tit was a welcome sight and with all the effort that's been put into putting up special nest boxes it is to be hoped the work pays off and Brandon becomes a stronghold for the species. I missed the Mediterranean gull which put in a brief appearance on East Marsh as I was on my way to Draycote and certainly no sight of the Bittern which is still there giving occasional flight views.
Draycote was quieter than I'd anticipated, although the cafe was doing a good trade. I had a cuppa myself before 'doing the Banks'. There was no sign of any Sand Martins reported earlier in the day, but the Rock pipit was soon found on the rocks along Farnborough bank although it did spend quite a lot of time under the rocks reappearing briefly further along the bank. The highlight of the day was yet to come. As the sun got lower and the Gulls started to assemble I moved round to the wind surfing area to get a better view. Some hard core roost watchers were already in position and had already registered 2 Iceland gulls, a Glaucous gull and a Med gull. They put me on an adult Glaucous Gull and the adult Iceland gull wasn't too far away. The light was great and the gulls showed well. Of the long stayers, the White fronted geese and Black necked Grebe showed well as usual. I couldnt find the Med gull but I was happy with what I had seen.
Willow tit, Brandon Marsh
Rock pipit, Draycote Water
Rock pipit
Rock pipit
11th March 2015
A much shorter visit to Brandon Marsh today. Highlights included; 3 Pink footed Geese, a Redshank, and a Green Sandpiper.
Pink footed Geese, Brandon Marsh
Redshank
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