Swinemoor yet again

With more time and energy on my hands than I've had for a while I couldn't resist another look at Swinemoor, from 8.30am to 11am. As I drove past part of the common I noticed the first horses have been put on. However, they haven't made their way over to the birdy areas yet.

Just one Shelduck was present today, but 3 male Snipe were in a mid air drumming battle. Walking along the main drain an Oystercatcher flew overhead and landed at the far end of the common - it didn't stay long though. About 100 Golden Plover were scattered all over the place and two Little Ringed Plovers were obvious - the third one was probably hiding somewhere. The two Wheatears from the previous two visits were still in exactly the same place and two Redshank remain devoted to their ever shrinking patch of water. Redshank watching paid off again as it did yesterday as a very scruffy looking Whimbrel joined them for a short time.

In the sky 3 Swifts circled around and 2 House Martins headed south, quickly followed by 4 Sand Martins. A number of Swallows were also feeding over the common.

Just a single Willow Warbler was singing today, although with the grey skies and intermittent rain I didn't feel much like singing either. All the normal common birds were seen along with a Stock Dove and a Dunnock which strangely I don't see very often here. Also a female House Sparrow turned up right in the middle of the common, which is unusual, they usually stick to the edges where the buildings are.

Not much esle of note around until I was almost back to the car. Alongside the river Hull in the reeds I heard the faint song of a Reed Warbler. I stayed long enough to get a reasonable look but it wasn't being too obliging. A Sparrowhawk and Song Thrush provided a distraction before getting back to the car.