Blashford Lakes Wildlife Reserve: Paradise with Coffee

A very early start to the day for the Dawn Chorus Walk, there was more wind than was ideal, but we still heard a good range of species. One of the first birds was cuckoo, followed by song thrush, blackbird, robin, wren etc. On the path to the Ivy South hide we had an master class in separating blackcap and garden warbler on song, which is to say both were singing next to each other at the same time.

We also saw a fair range of birds including a dunlin and a ringed plover on Ibsley Water from the Goosander hide and a grey plover was also reported, clearly today was one for migrant waders. At the Tern hide we had good views of lapwing, little ringed plover, but I only got a picture of a rather fine drake tufted duck.

Later in the day I found a sedge warbler singing by the Ivy Silt Pond, they are actually very unusual on the reserve in spring, apart from in the area just behind the Lapwing hide.

Three volunteers turned out for the first Sunday of the month task, we finished a fencing job and weeded the view in front of the "Badgercam".

I ate lunch in the Tern hide and there caught up with the greenshank which had been reported earlier, but much better was a little tern. This is the third record in the last week or so and I cannot help thinking they are related, although inland records of little tern are unusual and I don't know where it goes to in the days we do not see it. The movement of birds that had brought the waders also seemed to be bringing swift, as there were over 30 by lunchtime.

The wind and cloud made the day less than ideal for insects, but I did see my first beautiful demoiselle of the year.

By the end of the day the wader theme had been added to by a curlew flying over northward and the brilliant red male bar-tailed godwit, just about pictured below. The number of swift had risen to over 100 by the time I left at 17:30. A long day but interesting and with a few highlights and during which I saw 75 bird species.