Nearly Bissed Off!

After my foot-in-mouth comment yesterday about no birds up the coast, the least I could do was to respond to the call that the Ibis was doing the rounds today.  HOWEVER, I got to Cresswell to be told by RD that I was an hour late!  The bird was last seen flying off north west and landing beyond Bell's Pond.  So, with nothing to lose and an hour to spare, and never having been to Bell's Pond, RD and I went for a stroll, and as pleasant as it was, no Ibis.  Gave Druridge a few minutes but others there had seen nowt.  Oh well, off home via Castle Island, which now resembles the Masai Mara (the bit the Wildebeest cross before being devoured by the crocs).  Someone somewhere has pulled the Wansback's plug out and all the water has dissappeared apart from a dribble, and lots of mud.  Gulls galore, then a text from Vipers that the Ibis was back.  Like a yo-yo, back up, and the cast of thousands (tens actually) gave a clue that this time I was luckier.

Bingo, Lifer No. 242!  And move over RD and all the other photographers, there's a new kid on the block (Yeah!  Right!)!

And as a nice couple of add-ons, walking the dog at lunch time, I heard a Chiffchaff along Horton Burn, West Hartford at had three Common Buzzards over the woods to the NE, and tonight, a GSW near the entrance, a Common Redshank on the larger Flash and three Common Snipe on the smaller one.

Gutted!

http://www.birdlifemalta.org/

Bit of a let down

Took a few hours off this afternoon and thought I'd go up north and enjoy the sun.  First stop was Druridge Pools, where a Chiffchaff was singing in the trees to the south of the path to the Budge.  The Budge?  Grass too long and water too high.  Little mud visible so nothing much to see (0815 Sat 26/9 - JUST CHECKED BIRDGUIDES AND A GLOSSY IBIS AT DRURIDGE POOLS!!! I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID. BUT IF ANYONE HAS THE PATIENCE TO SPEND THE TIME LOOKING AT A GRASSY FIELD THEY DESERVE TO GET THEIR REWARD).  And so to the Oddie.  The south-facing hide all nice and new and green and looking out onto a grass field (who stole the water and the mud?).  Druridge from the Oddie had two Otters but nothing with feathers worthy of note, I'm afraid.  That said, the Otter were a treat, one with a reasonable eel that it took to the SE corner of the pool and then out of sight.  The second Otter remained in the middle for some time.

Thought I'd scan the sea.  The tide was on its way out but the best views I have ever had of juvenile Gannets fishing oly 30m off shore.  Probably about 30 of them plus a few adults.  Superb!

And in a very, very quiet Cresswell this afternoon, the highlight were four Greenshank.  The spit was empty, the north causeway had Mallards and Wigeon and there were a few dozen Lapwing on the west shore.

Nothing like Billy Connolly........

........who once described himself as 'windswept and interesting', West Hartford this evening was very windswept and far from interesting.  If you like the odd House Martin and Swallow, superb.  Anything else, I wouldn't bother!  Nothing on the water or the mud or in the air, not even a corvid or a pigeon.  Just hirundines.