One good Tern .....

I made an early start to a safari to the north of Ely.  The Beet pits and Roswell area made for an enjoyable dawn(ish) chorus with lots of songbirds giving their all.  Disappointingly there was no sound from any Nightingales and hopefully this is not indicative of a no show at Roswell this year. 

I checked every bare field on the way to the Washes with the hope of finding a Dotterel.  Although there were no rarer plovers to be found it was great to see plenty of  Lapwing chicks during the morning.  From the bank at Oxlode a bogthumper boomed and a Spotted Crake made a few half hearted whips from across the Washes.  After a spell of searching I picked up the Cattle Egret at some distance in flight.  As hoped it made a beeline for it's favoured field and showed well until I left. I worked the south bank at various points all the way down to Welney where a Black Tern and a flock of 9 Greenshank were the highlight.

Last night I was looking through some old pics and found this shot from a few years ago of a Stock Dove at Purls Bridge that is truly showing it's iridescence. During my nightly wander in the garden, listening out for anything other than traffic, I was surprised to hear a Lesser Whitethroat giving it's rattle twice at a good volume.  A new one for my nocturnal songsters list.