Curves

An avocet feeding at the edge of the Allen Pool at Leighton Moss this evening. The low sun was beginning to dissolve into haze, and its golden reflections were catching the concentric ripples of the bird feeding. The feeding must be better close to the shore as the bird rarely ventured into the deeper water out of the fringing screen of reeds.

I was distracted as ever from the challenge of trying to find the unusual bird, an American wigeon that has been seen over the last few days. I never did see it, but there was compensation in seeing 3 whimbrels fly low past the hide window, their tittering call drawing attention.  Perhaps they were heading for the freshwater pools to spend the night before moving on in their migration north. A birder in the hide said that 85% of migrant whimbrels fly non-stop from North Africa to Iceland, I didn't know that, and am grateful for those that grace us each Spring and Autumn with a stop over.

Thanks for all the stars and hearts for the black-tailed godwit flock in flight. A reliable bird counter estimated the number at the site that day at 3100 individuals, perhaps half of those were in that single shot. Today, there were just small numbers again, the southerly airflow may be carrying the rest north towards Iceland.