Wood Sandpiper

Lade - cool, dry and cloudy, light airs - At last a day without a blasting Arctic wind, but still a frigid  early morning atmosphere with only five common moths in the garden trap. There was nothing new on the lakes apart from a drake Shelduck on the willow swamp pool, while a steady passage of Swifts moved high overhead. When the sun eventually broke through a few butterflies ventured onto the wing, including Common Blue and Small Copper along the old railway track.

                                Sunbathing Small Copper

  This afternoon at Dengemarsh a Wood Sandpiper flew in from the hayfields and settled on a mat of floating weed on one of the arms of the main lake along with a couple of Redshanks, although it didn`t show for long before moving into a reed bed to feed. A Great White Egret flew over while three Hobbies hawked insects over Hookers where Marsh Harrier and a `booming` Bittern present.  
  Whilst scanning hayfield 3 a male Peregrine put on a fine show swooping low over the wetland,  sending 20 Lapwings, eight Redshanks and two Oystercatchers into the sky to `sort it out`; the prince of raptors was in imperious form and as always a treat to watch as it commanded the skies. Also noted: five Little Egrets, two Whimbrels, a Buzzard, Yellow Wagtail, Shovelers, Shelducks and four Ravens and two Mediterranean Gulls overhead. Two Brown Hares were also good to see gambolling across the shingle.