Friday March 31

A largely sunny morning with one light shower. Mild again. I decided to return to Arrow Valley Lake fuelled by news of a recent sighting of the Cetti's Warbler which had been trapped over the winter by the Worcestershire Ringing Group.

It wasn't long before I was adding birds to my year-list. An Oystercatcher was pottering about in front of the yacht club. This was not as surprising to me as it might have been, because I had heard that the pair of Oystercatchers which visited Morton Bagot last spring had come from Arrow Valley Lake.

Oystercatcher

Shortly afterwards I heard a singing Willow Warbler, and it was to prove to be the first of at least seven around the lake. A similar number of Chiffchaffs and four singing Blackcaps added to the spring-like feel.

Willow Warbler

I invested a lot of effort trying to get a recognisable photograph of a Willow Warbler, and then spent some time trying to do the same with the Sand Martins, 70 of which were hawking insects overhead.

Sand Martin

More Sand Martins (not gnats)

While I was scanning through the martins looking for a Swallow, I found instead a House Martin. This was, I think, my first ever March sighting of a House Martin in the UK. Sadly it was too distant to give me any chance of a photo.

I then noticed that some apparent litter on the south end of the island was actually a Little Egret which had managed to impale its flight feathers on the bushes it was standing in.

Oh dear

I had resolved to phone the RSPCA, but I met another birder, a lady who was counting nests for the BTO, and she said she would contact the Wychbold Wildlife Rescue charity as they were very prompt in rescuing swans.

As we chatted, another new wader for the year flew over, this time a Lapwing. The Oystercatcher had been flushed by a man mowing the lawn in front of the yacht club. The lady told me she had seen and heard the Cetti's Warbler last autumn on the other side of the lake so I decided to head over there to try again.

I relocated the Oystercatcher on the heronry island, and did a broad sweep of the scrubby areas to the east of the lake without finding anything new. However, returning to the lake I noticed that the Black-headed Gull numbers had swelled to about 25, and that there was a first-winter Common Gull circling with them. I speed-walked up the lake path, but the birds must have been paying a brief visit, because they had mostly disappeared by the time I reached the north end.

I may have been a bit hard on this place in my post a few weeks ago. It's not so bad.