A bright morning and the prospect of
some autumnal sun had me dashing off for an early start at IMF. The sky turned
very grey during the journey and my thoughts turned to last weeks rain dodging
and an abandoned visit to this venue. This time I arrived dry, if a little
under-dressed for the chilling breeze that greeted me inside the
east-facing hide.
Out on #2 pool were 250 Lapwing, 100
Teal and 3 Snipe. Within minutes of my arrival, all but the Snipe were sent
skyward as a female Merlin raced in low from the north and along the near water
line.
Everything soon settled but there was
little movement over the next hour. A single Blackwit arrived but did not stay
long. The Snipe flew off to the north although one well-camouflaged bird
remained in front of the hide. A single male Shoveler arrived, followed by 7
Redshank, 2 Spotted Redshanks and 5 Greylags. A Grey Heron appeared in the
longish scrub to the east and was oblivious to the sheep that roamed around it.
I wonder if – like me – the heron had a giggle at the sight of one sheep
carrying 9 Starling on its back!
With the easterly breeze still biting,
I thought of moving on. Suddenly the short, sharp flight
call of a Kingfisher pierced the air and the grey panorama was set alight by
the flash of bright blue as it darted passed, looped around the border
end of the pool, streamed back low over the islands where it spooked a few Lapwing and disappeared
to the north-west. Amazing… yet another Kingfisher √ and my second in 3 days. Warmed… I headed
home.
Snipe in front of IMF hide - easy to spot once you know it's there!
Ballooning on gossamer thread, this Autumnal Spider paid me a visit at IMF
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