Red-necked Grebe

Lade - cold, sunny, nw 3 - A nippy morning with a scudding wind out of the north-west, but at least it was dry. A circuit of the local patch delivered five Goldeneyes on the lakes and a Marsh Harrier over. A Redpoll perched briefly atop a birch tree by the ponds, before flying off inland calling, was something of a surprise and a scarce bird here. Yesterdays work party had done a fine job of clearing the last of the willow scrub from the ponds.

                               Greenfinch, Lade ponds

  This afternoon, whilst at the point checking the gulls, news filtered through regarding a Red-necked Grebe found on ARC earlier in the day. We were soon on site along with a small group of locals enjoying obscured views of the grebe within a flock of diving ducks, on the edge of a reedbed seen from the track to Hanson hide looking towards the tower. AP et al also told of a flock of 17 Water Pipits that they`d not long seen on the hayfields and, sure enough, the pipits were still present as dusk approached on hayfield 2, although flighty. 
  At Scotney four Long-tailed Ducks were still on the western pit outback, plus five Whooper Swans on the roadside pit to the east of the farm track (AP.)