Wet wet wet

It felt more like the end of November than the end of April out there today - it took a lot to psych myself up to leave the house, something I then regretted doing as soon as I arrived at Collingham - the weather was atrocious, with constant rain and a biting breeze from the north - my car claimed it was just 6 degrees C. Predictably, I didn't see much, although there was a bedraggled party of 5 Wheatears in the grassland next to the Main Pit - 4 males and a female. They seemed to be finding food ok, although one was just hunkered down behind a clump of knapweed looking like it wanted to be somewhere else - I know how it felt...

At Mons Pool, a Hobby lingered for a couple of minutes before heading north, harassing the good numbers of hirundines present. I scanned these half-heartedly for a Red-rumped Swallow (one can but hope), and was impressed by the precision flying of both the Swallows and Sand Martins, fluttering low over the water before pulling their wings up and dropping their heads to delicately pick an insect off the waters surface - whilst battling into the blustery wind and dealing with the choppy water. Judging from the tinyness of the insects concerned, they must have to catch thousands, given the amount of energy they must expend catching them in the first place. Poor little blighters!

Girton wasn't better, with more low-feeding hirundines, including 50 or so Swallows feeding in the lee of a hedge (ignoring me completely) and a single Swift, but the Cetti's Warbler was singing from its new hang-out, along with a couple of Reed Warblers.

Swallows at Girton Pits

Finally, in the paddocks at Cotham Flash, there was another Wheatear and at least 3 Yellow Wags, but by now I was cold and wet, and couldn't see through my optics properly, so I went home and did some DIY. Lets hope the weather improves next week...