Thursday, 10th April: It was cold enough overnight for a touch of frost this morning, still with a chilly NE breeze force 3-4, but it gradually warmed up to give another bright, sunny and dry day, with some white cloud at times, with the wind veering more SE later.
Barnham Brooks - Shripney/Lidsey area: I was birding the Selsey Peninsula all morning and beyond, but on my return to the local area I called in for another look here, before heading for home. The small flooded areas that remain are drying up fast now, but eventually I managed to locate four Green Sandpipers, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Snipe around the margins. However, a combination of heat haze, distance and vegetation obscuring the view meant that viewing conditions were very challenging at times.
A dozen or more Lapwings were more conspicuous, whilst c.70 Teal, a pair of Shoveler, a dozen Mallard and two Shelduck were on the remaining water. Two Cetti's Warblers were singing, as were a few Chiffchaffs and a couple of Blackcaps, but it was otherwise quiet and I left soon after. Other species nearby included a pair of Green Woodpeckers, a few Linnets and Greenfinches, a Kestrel and two Buzzards.
Bilsham farm: A fairly short mid-afternoon visit to the reservoir, which again produced only the regular species, consisting of 12 Tufted Ducks, eight Shoveler, ten Mallard and two Little Grebes. Then a Red Kite appeared, drifting over the adjacent fields, before drifting away again when hampered by a local Buzzard. On my way back I was pleased to see three newly-arrived Swallows on the wires near the donkey paddocks and two Yellowhammers were in the hedgerows.
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