Patchwatching weekend

Saturday 2nd April I visited my two patches to see what new birds I could add to the slow growing list, first port of call was Lytchett Fields.
On walking down the lane towards the Pools Field I came across the usual suspects of Blue and Great Tits and the many Robins,on reaching the gate I had a quick scan acorss to the pool with only a Little Egret and crow about I still carried on down to the view point thinking that there might be some pipits in the small channal furrows. On the way I meet a person walking is dog coming back up the lane. Only to find when I got to the view point he was in the field throwing a ball about for is dog.
Now there is nothing wrong with throwing a ball about for a dog, but when it is in a field that you are not allowed in and is an important  area for migrant birds to stop and rest and feed I do not think it is right.
Any how I moved off to look across Black Pipe Bay here I found a nice mix of birds with c160 Black tailed Godwits, 9 Curlew some Oystercatchers and Teal. Walking back up the lane to go down the to the other view points I scanned the recently ploughed field with the hope of finding my first Wheatear of the year. All I could see out on this field was a mixture of Jackdaw, Carrion Crow and Rook and some Chiffchaff in the hedge row.

Carrion Crow

As I walked down the other lane listerning to the bird song and scanning the fields at every gate way.
I was almost down by the LSW tree when I stopped at the rusty gate and looked out across the field
and Boom my first Wheatear of the year and a patch tick for me. The Lytchett list now stand at 77 species seen way below the other 3 Patch Watchers.

Me watching the Wheatear

Poor record shot of said Wheatear

In the later afternoon I moved on to Longham Lakes and walked round South Lake, I thought it seemed pretty quiet with the usual Tufted Ducks, Coot and Great Crested Grebes along with a scatting of Shoveler, Teal, Mallards and Gadwall with 15 Canada Geese and not many gulls.
On counting the gulls I found only 11 Herring Gull, Two Lesser Black backed Gull and a number of Black headed Gull but no Medriternenean Gull among them which just seemed odd.
As I got to the settling pools at the top end of the lake there was a bit of a commoition going in the trees on the far side with a Green Woodpecker making a hell of a din when all of a sudden it burst out of the trees with a Sparrowhawk in hot pursuit. So the made a new bird for the list with that I made my way back to the car park hoping for a Swallow or House Martin when just as I got to the jetty I saw my first Swallow of the year, making it two new species seen of this trip for the Longham List which now stands at 66 species seen to date.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Sand Martin (19/03/16)

Mute Swan