May Bank Holiday

 Another bank holiday trip on Sunday, out to the Brecks again. I had had a bad fall and cracked some ribs the previous week so travelled as light as possible and tried not to overdo things but had a very enjoyable day out.

We started quite early at Cavenham Heath. It was rather chilly but gradually warmed up and we actually ended up doing all three trails over 3 1/2 hours. One obliging Stone Curlew wandering around not far from the car was nice, and a bit further down the track a Woodlark sat on top of a bush allowing some decent images. Down the river and along the Fen trail we encountered large numbers of Azure damselflies, a few 4 Spotted Chasers and a couple of other larger species that were too quick. A flyby Kingfisher was nice as well. 

Along the Heath trail more Woodlark, some Stonechats and a singing Tree Pipit in the now warm sunshine, plus a few butterflies made a decision to head into the woods to the north a no-brainer where we added a couple of Marsh Tits and a Treecreeper.

We then went to Lakenheath, had a bit of lunch and a gentle stroll along the river with a long stop at the Joist fen viewpoint. There were a few distant Hobbys, and one or two Bitterns were flying around getting food for their young.

We pretty much cleaned up on dragonflies here-Broad Bodied and Scarce Chasers, Hairy dragonflies, more 4 Spots, Azure and Red Eyes Damsleflies and a lot of butterflies as well, including Green Hairstreak and Brown Argus.

Thursday highlights-

With the cool cloudy mornings with a bit of drizzle I thought we might get a Black Tern at Fairlands. I was a bit surprised not long after getting into work to hear that Andy Day had found a Sanderling-not on the radar and a first for the park. I held out til lunchtime and had a quick dash where it showed quite well. i could have hung on as it lingered into the evening. Not an easy bird to see in Herts, as they are usually short stayers so a county first for me.