9th April

Bushy Park

I was unable to get out until 12.15pm and thought I would check to see if the Garganey was still present. I went up to the screen and viewed an empty Scrape. Looking towards The Dukes Head Passage I could see one birder, who not having met new it was Billy. I whistled to get his attention and we met at the gate. After exchanging pleasantries I invited him to join me checking the other pools in the area. As we approached the first pool we flushed a Snipe, which was swiftly followed by the Garganey. I said we could approach if he wanted to get a photo, but it would more than likely be a flight shot and in the poor light wouldn’t be great. We chose the second choice that of viewing it from the screen where it would be distant but wouldn’t be flushed. We watched the duck for a while where it seemed more intent in having a kip than feeding. After a short walk in the Woodland Gardens, I heard a brief snatch of a Willow Warbler song one that Bill had seen earlier. We then went our separate ways, with me heading back to the Garganey.

Other birds seen in during my lunch break were;

Teal: 4 were on a flooded area of woodland in the Brew House Fields.

Buzzard: Billy and I had heard one, which I later saw sheltering in a wood.

Snipe: one still present.

Willow Warbler: after hearing that brief snatch of song earlier another was in a hedge in the Brew House Field.

Chiffchaff: 8 birds were present.

The other birds seen were the species that have been present for the past couple of months.