Friday, 27 July 2012

Pennington Flash - 18 April 2012

What a sight greeted me from the car-park with hirundines everywhere on the flash. Mostly Swallows and Sand Martins at first but I soon spotted the unmistakable white rumps of the House Martins. I took a waterside bench and enjoyed the spectacular display of acrobatics set against, and enhanced by, a back-drop of reasonably calm water.

Eventually I reached the hide over-looking the spit, where a pair of Moorhen were busy building a nest in the rocks, so low that it would surely not survive the inevitable increase in water level! A good scan of the area produced pairs of Redshank and Gadwall. A number of Cormorant out on the point were joined by a few Black-headed Gulls and in amongst them was a lone Ringed Plover. That may well have been the days highlight, but for four Snipe feeding in the shallows on the right of the spit.

I walked the path orbiting the smaller pools and on Teal Scrape found a pair of Lapwing, with the male in almost constant mating flight 'pee-wheeping' loudly to the female. Eventually, they both settled on a small island in front of me, where the male continued the ritual by displaying his chestnut underside to the mottled-throated female. I remember thinking that he had more work to do, as she appeared less than enthusiastic!

A very good day indeed.

Snipe (gallinago gallinago) on the Spit

'You decide'... 'No, you decide'...

Male Lapwing displaying his credentials!

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