Been a bit frustrating hearing all the goodies being reported from Amwell recently, but I heard from Bill yesterday that a few still remained so went down this morning. As per usual it was freezing, but the water levels were a lot higher (and Kingsmead had started to fill having been dry for months, not that it will do much).
A scan of the fishing pit from the track failed to reveal the Red Breasted Merganser. Most of the usual Sunday crowd present so had a chat while scanning the main lake. The Black Tern was soon located over the tern rafts. Large numbers of hirundines and swifts feeding over the water. Waders a bit limited-the Oystercatcher on the nest, several Redshanks and at least one of the Lapwings had chicks.
Simon arrived but did not stay long. When he left I went down to with him to search for the merganser and this time I found it, though the views through the trees was rather poor. Returning to the watchpoint things were a bit quiet so i went with Brian down to the Bittern Pool and Tumbling Bay for the Nightingale. We only heard a few brief snatches. Also a suspect Garden Warbler was heard (later confirmed by Phil) by the bridge. I stayed for a while by the Bittern Pool and then went up to the woods and scanned the fishing pit through the willows. Got better views of the Merganser this time-but not as good as Brian and a few others who were able to access the fishing pit and clear views.
One Yellow wagtail dropped in, but the oddest feature of the day was the large movement of Wood Pigeons, all seeming to be heading eastwards.
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