Wryneck

 Lade - warm, thundery, w 2 - A day of heavy thunderstorms and lightening across the Marsh commenced with a deluge here on the coast around 7 am. Thankfully it relented somewhat until the afternoon affording a decent birding session across the peninsula with CP. A couple of hours spent at ARC proved profitable with a variety of waders including Little Stint, eight Black-tailed Godwits feeding on the weed, Dunlins, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Redshank, Ruff, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper and a calling Spotted Redshank over within a flock of 200 Golden Plovers. Also noted on the lake: Black Tern, Great White and Little Egrets, Glossy Ibis, Kingfisher and Black-necked Grebe while the bushes were alive with calling Lesser Whitethroats, Common Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and tits, plus Yellow and Grey Wagtails over, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, three Sparrowhawks and Marsh Harriers. A brief look at Burrowes delivered a Little Gull amongst a flock of Black-headed Gulls, Black and Common Terns and Common Sandpipers.

                    Glossy Ibis and Black-tailed Godwits

  Moving onto Scotney where there was very little apart from thousands of feral geese and a couple of Wheatears. At Galloways DS had discovered a Wryneck between the two bends in the road where I had fleeting views as it briefly perched atop a gorse bush. There were a few more Wheatears and Stonechats here, where two Short-eared Owls and an Osprey had been seen earlier (MC).

                    Yellow Wagtail, Lade

  A late afternoon check of the local patch delivered 30 Yellow Wagtails on the Desert and 20 on the beach, plus Whinchat, five Wheatears and yet another Sparrowhawk.