Apart from my local patch, Pennington Flash is the only place that I keep a list for and I didn't wait long today before adding a Kittiwake to the list. It was not an easy pick at the far end of the spit, particularly amid the surrounding chaos of the Black-headed Gulls, but its plain black wing-tips and shorter legs distinguished it from a couple of nearby Common Gulls.
The spit also held the usual number of Cormorant, a Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Lapwing, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Crow and Pied Wagtail. And a large number of Swallows flashed over in u-turns before heading out again across the midge strewn waters.
Out on the flash were Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Teal, Gadwall and a pair of Goldeneye. I love Goldeneye and I crave a decent photo of a male but I always seem to get a distant bird - fair light, or vice-versa. I fear I may need to invest in a camo-canoe!
Next I had a look at the 'fairy-tale world' of the Bunting Hide feeding station. Where notable additions were Willow Tit, Bullfinch and my first Pennington Brambling. Also, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tit, Reed Bunting, Robin (pictured), Greenfinch, Wren, Dunnock and Stock Dove.
I grabbed a picnic table in a sunny spot for some lunch before taking the circular tour of the hides that face out onto the idyllic lagoons. These hold plenty of birds and today I had Grey Heron, Goosander, Coot, Moorhen, Shelduck, Black-tailed Godwit, Great Crested Grebe, Snipe, Tufted Duck, Shoveler and Blackbird.
Brilliant Kingfisher territory this is too but alas, not today. Ah well, just the 42 species then.
Unless of course, I can count the mysterious levitating Redshank as a sub-species...
Kangaroo Redshank - Tringa totanus Levioso
A distant male Goldeneye on the Flash
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