Lade - showery, mild, S4 - With thunder, lightening and heavy overnight rain a fresh breeze picking up from the south through the morning continued to dump more showers on already saturated ground; infact the small, shingle island that held the phalarope on Friday was now almost submerged with the rising water table. However, it was another productive session with a large count of around 1,400 waterfowl comprising a record number of 540 Shovelers, all on south lake; other notable numbers were 210 Pochards, 52 Great Crested and 38 Little Grebes, while the Black-necked Grebe remained on north lake. A Common Tern, a Common Sandpiper, 18 Little and two Great White egrets were also present around the wetlands. A mobile passerine flock along the causeway included plenty of Long-tailed Tits, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats. As the wind was from a favourable direction I opted for an hour at the fishing boats around midday which duly delivered the expected Gannets and Sandwich Terns, a Common Scoter and an Arctic Skua until the rain closed in.
A couple of garden firsts were recorded this weekend when a Spotted Flycatcher appeared briefly first thing and a Common Frog that somehow got trapped in a bucket of water, but was none the worse for its temporary incarceration once I released it onto the lawn as it hopped off into the undergrowth.
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