The week gone

The last week on the patch has been fairly uneventful. The waders have dried up (although the habitat at Mons pool hasn't - it's still looking good for a Sanderling or Temminck's Stint...), and the Turtle Doves haven't reappeared - yet (will they this year?). After Sunday's visit I took advantage of the good weather, and went looking for Grizzled Skippers around Kilvington Lakes and Flawborough Footpath, with some success. One spot, on the disused railway line running between the North and East Lakes at Kilvington held around 9 individuals, with small numbers elsewhere. I also encountered two Dingy Skippers on my travels; I think this is the only location in Notts where both Grizzled and Dingy Skipper fly together - at least naturally (i.e. they haven't been released). 

Grizzled Skipper

As I approached Kilvington in my car, I almost wrote off a large bird to the west as a gull. However, it soon became apparent that it was in fact an Osprey, cruising south. I sped round to the parking spot next to the viewing screen in anticipation of the bird flying past, but after a bit of scanning realised the bird was heading north now, being harassed by one of the local Buzzards, which was a bit of a shame.

Osprey (left...)

Yesterday (Monday) a site visit in the north of the county allowed me to return via Girton Pits to do my WeBS count. Best was of course the now-resident Cattle Egret, looking very smart and actually fairly close among the sheep next to North Pit. 

Cattle Egret at Girton Pits

Whilst there, news broke of what sounds rather like an Iberian Chiffchaff at Spalford Warren - just a stone's throw away. A quick call to county recorder Andy Hall for any further details (like where exactly it had been seen) revealed that the report actually related to a sighting from 3 weeks previous, and that the observer had been back recently and not found the bird. And with the only clue to the birds location being that it appeared to have been in a cherry tree, I decided to carry on with my WeBS... but I might go and have a look tomorrow (even though it's got to be a long shot now). See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heZq60SmHmA. Very frustrating that this bird didn't decide to stop 2 miles short at Besthorpe or Collingham Pits!