By 6am both Mark and Mike had beaten me to Broom. They'd already got aWhimbrel on the deck, and two of the Barwits from yesterday were still
there. Another Greenshank flew around calling too. By 6:30 there were
about six of us all stood waiting expectantly.
Unfortunately I had to leave at 7, bound for an exclusive tour of a private
estate. Rob and I were there to add species to their bird list, and to
spread the good word of the Bird Club.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable few hours with some excellent birding thrown
in. We had Cetti's Warbler, Raven, two Shoveler, 14 Grey Heron nests, and 8
Cormorant nests - all excellent county records. Hopefully now more records
will be coming from this secret corner of Beds, thanks to Rob's hard work.
After a mid-afternoon snooze (its hard work birding in spring) I was out
again, this time with Carrie. We ended up back at Broom, and met Robin
there. The two Barwits were still there but had been joined by another
Whimbrel - making two. I also found a lovely adult Little Gull right in the
middle of the gull colony. They really are tiny, even when compared to a
Black-head. We also had a very dark-billed Common Tern. Over the last
week, several birds with very dark bills have been seen at Broom. I guess
they've still got some of their winter plumage going on with a dark bill?
Not sure really.
