One of Many Hobby .
I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours at Grove Ferry yesterday morning granted i had missed the main birding event in the shape of 2 Honey Buzzards drifting over the reserve before i got there , however that did not dampen my spirits, on my way to the viewing ramp i heard then saw a smart Lesser Whitethroat right at the beginning of the path , i bumped into Martyn Wilson on the viewing ramp before he headed off to Collards Lake and he kindly informed whats around the reserve , whilst on the ramp Martyn picked out a Common Sandpiper flying low over the flood , this is only the 2 nd one i have seen this year , it did not take long for the first Hobby to appear with 4 birds right over head , really like these falcons and the views were amazing , although my photos don't do them any justice .
Another Hobby.
Marsh Harrier and Common Buzzard were added from the ramp before i headed of to the Paddocks and i instantly heard another Lesser Whitethroat and with a bit of patience it eventually showed itself , i also heard a Turtle Dove " purring " but alas i could not locate it , its been a couple of years since i have had any type of view of these smart doves whereas years gone by they were quite plentiful , i could hear in the distance a Cuckoo then 2 birds flew right in front of me , i managed a photo , just !
Brief view of a Cuckoo .
I continued my walk along the river where i saw a male Bullfinch in more or less the same area last time i did this walk , there were plenty of birds in song , mainly Cettis , Chiffchaff and Sedge Warblers , a Green Woodpecker flew over my head and Hobby seemed to be everywhere , i counted 10 birds in the air at once but i would guess there were plenty more , i left the river walk and took the trail towards Harrions Drove but was put off going to the hide as a quite large party of non birding people were heading towards the hide so i cut back across towards the ramp , on route i had very brief views of some Bearded Tits which are always great to see but sadly they never gave themselves up to my camera , eventually i manged to pin point a very showy Sedge Warbler .
A really showy Sedge Warbler .
A really pleasant mornings birding in nice conditions was had here and i mustn't leave it so long before my next visit .
