A prediction comes true

It's always nice to be right. I've been predicting a Water Pipit at Collingham Pits for the last few weeks (see here), in the wet, muddy area created by the horses around the margins of Ferry Lane Lake. And tonight, as I jumped out of the car, a pipit flew up from the muddy area on the southern shore, before dropping out of sight behind the low bund next to the water's edge. It looked relatively large, and sounded very promising. I headed off to find it, flushing it in the process, but as it flew up from near me it showed white outer-tail feathers, good wing-bars and a strong head pattern, and upon landing, a nice pink wash to the underparts. A Water Pipit! It then flew a short distance west, landing in the the south-west corner of Ferry Lane Lake in a more open area, allowing decent viewing through the roadside hedge. I watched it for a while, getting a few record shots, before leaving it to check Mons Pool (where there was nothing - the water levels are right up). 

A little corker. This puts me on 105 species and 120 points for the patch up to the end of March. By way of comparison, I was on 97 species and 104 points at this stage last year.