Cambs comes good

With Bedfordshire being so quiet, we defected today. By mid-morning we were walking along the central drove of the Nene Washes in Cambs. This place is such a wonderful cacophony of bird sounds in spring. Blackwits were wickering, Snipe were drumming and chipping, Lapwings were spaceinvadering (that's what I think they sound like anyway), and Redshanks were tu-tu-ing - it really was magical. Well, it was until the wind got up and the rain started coming down. We beat a hastily retreat back to the car and headed south!

The Nightingales at Little Paxton are often referred to as the most visible anywhere in the country. I usually venture there at least once a year to try and see them, but today was my first trip of the year. The weather had improved a little, and although overcast, at least it wasn't raining.

On the walk down to the Wray House area (usually the best to actually see a Nightingale) we saw the heads and tails of several individuals, but not a full-body view. After waiting around for a half-hour and seeing one or two birds zipping from bush to bush, and singing so closely they made your ears pound, a family walked past asking how we were getting on. The two young lads were hoping to see their first Nightingales, but they were proving tricky. They wandered on, and about 50 meters along the track one of the lads found one singing. They beckoned Carrie and I over and there it was, singing right in the open and head-height. Excellent. The only thing that could have been better was the weather. Still, I'm quite chuffed with the results.

The last bit of birding of the day was a dash to Broom at dusk. The net result was 107 roosting Common Terns on the main island - an excellent count for early May.