Netherfield Lagoons
One of the small ponds on the Trent plain.
J & G had been overwhelmed here yesterday with warblers appearring almost in every bush.
Well that was yesterday. So don't get working up a lather about todays sightings. The wind on the top of the lagoons, which had made an appearrance overnight, was just a notch or so below galeforce. So we kept to the low path beside the rail line till we met the Trent. We convinced ourselves that the wind was responsible for the total lack of any sightings, as the previous day the birds were throwing themselves at J & G! The little varmints could be heard alright, at least by those with radar tabs, but hearing and seeing are two entirely different perceptions. We did have out moments however. When we reached the bridge over the Trent, Swallows were manically swooping this way and that before disappearring into the bridge superstructure, where perhaps youngones, were greedily waiting for their next feed.
The railway embankment.Then unusually a pair of Pied Wagtails were vying with a pair of Grey Wagtails for squatters rights on one of the buttresses of the bridge. The plot in question couldn't have been more than a yard in area and sloped at a fair angle. What they planned to do with it is anybodies guess. And finally the sighting of the day, a Cuckoo. We had heard it calling when we first reached the site and not until we reached the lagoon tops was it spotted. George who had seen it the previous year and knew some of its hangouts drew it to my attention with a delirious trill. All in all, it had been a good session. We had decided that in order to improve our identifications more efficiently then we need to get to grip with the songs and calls. And also, the stick that I carried to get me round the place should be used less zealously as a prop when I speak!
Deep Pond looking towards the railway bridge.
Cuckoo*, Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martin, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Common Tern.
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