Hadn't been out with the camera for a few days due both to the very poor weather and laziness so when I heard that a Stonechat was still showing at Marsh Lane I set off there arriving at midday.
The weather which the weatherman had assured me would be sunny and dry was in fact overcast and rain was in the air.No surprise there then.That was the bad news the good news was that I bumped into my good friend Jeff Rankin just past the Oak hide and in response to my challenge to "Find me the Stonechat" he obliged within 5 minutes when he got it from the railway hide back along the main path.
We went back along the main path to try and get closer but the rain was coming down and we had to find cover.I raced back to the railway hide and in the next hour I tried to get some shots between the showers.These were my best efforts.
When having yet another go Jeff rang me from the Oak hide and said they'd got a Wader but couldn't id it would I help.Blimey the hide must be full of clowns if they needed me to do an id.Got to the hide just as it started to pour down so it was pretty hard to see.I thought it was a Dunlin but a couple of other birders thought it might be a Pectoral Sandpiper.Matters were settled finally when some one got some shots up on their phone and we all agreed it was a Dunlin. Excitement over ! !
Finally the rain stopped a bit of brightness appeared so Jeff and I went to find the Stonechat again.We soon found it near the large Gorse bush and we were able to get some better shots.I was very pleased to see one particularly as it was a male because I hadn't seen one for nearly 3 years despite having been to several reserves near the coast.
If you want to see some excellent shots of both the male and female Stonechats click on the link to the right to go to Jeff Rankin's shots
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