Chiffchaffs, Blackcap and the continuing Ring-necked Duck

 The duck gets no closer or easier to photograph so a couple more record shots; Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are two species certainly on the up locally with a total of 74 singing Chiffchaffs counted on my local pits walks on March 31st and up to 50 Blackcaps occupying breeding territories in recent years - a far cry from the one or two pairs that bred in the 1970's. 

A good day on the patch

 First off some record shots of the first Mediterranean Gull of the year; appeared to be adult but clearly the black in those primaries make it a 3cy or 4cy summer

Then today as well as 300 Sand Martins and 5 Swallows a summer plumages Red-necked Grebe popped up only to be complemented by a drake Ring-necked Duck the first locally since 2018 - all birds were distant so some huge crops

patch Ring-necked Duck

just arrived back from Manchester airport to hear that the drake Ring-necked Duck has relocated to Bridge pit on the patch -- poor light and a quick visit hopefully it will hang around for a while -- the last local pits bird was amazingly as long back as 2003 when a drake stayed from late April through to early June so there is a precedent

record shots indeed

drake Ring-necked Duck along with some bits of a Red-crested Pochard x Pochard hybrid and a small flock of R C P's

Black Guillemot and Ring-necked Duck

truly micro dot images of my first Lincs Black Guillemot and a very dull late afternoon female Ring-necked Duck we picked up on the way home at Kirkby Pits -- wonder how many birders really look at that place with any regularity -- oh it Lincs