250

Sunday saw a bit of a milestone for me as I finally caught up with my 250 bird in Northumberland.


These days I only seem to care what birds I see at West Hartford and in the county. Although I still like seeing any new birds I will never be a twitcher and new birds south of the Tyne don’t seem to have the same appeal they once did.

Anyway onto the bird, the Long Billed Dowitcher at Cresswell Pond. I got a quick scope view of this rare wader as I entered the hide before all of the birds on the sand bar flew off and relanded a few times. I’m sure the presence of the Great Skua on the pond had something to do with the birds flightiness. The Dowitcher re landed and settled down with a group of Snipe on the sand bar. Also a Little Stint was amongst the Dunlin.

On Saturday morning thanks to a text from SH, I had my first West Hartford tick since the spring. When JM had a flyover Yellow Wagtail and a Little Grebe at the same time in April I thought that I would have to wait a long time until my next chance.
So thanks to the heavy rainfall and large amount of water now at WH I was treated to views of a Little Grebe swimming across and diving on the main pool.
I still find it strange having a patch where common birds such as Little Grebe, Coot and Tufted Duck are mega rares but I wouldn’t want it any other way.