I've said it before and I'll say it again, thank god for rain! A blustery, squally day of heavy showers it might have been, and yes I may well have gotten a good soaking every hour or so, but it was the best and most positive days birding I've had for a while at the flash.
First off I was scanning the shoreline at the yacht club and came across a smart looking ringed plover. Quite dark and slim looking, it seems a good candidate for a tundra ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula tundrae, especially at this time of year. This race breeds in arctic Scandinavia.
There were hundreds of swifts and hirundines flying low over the flash as there often is in these conditions, some almost hanging in the wind as they battled their way over the water. I decided to try my luck at getting a flight photo of a swift, hopeless as this might seem. I had taken about 30 photos and was just searching for the next likely looking candidate when swoosh, a hobby powered over my head quite low down and shot over the water like a bullet chasing a swift. It missed its target and I watched it continue on its way west, past the yacht club and towards Slag lane until it was lost to sight. A breathtaking moment! Needless to say, I don't have any swift photos to post here.
Finally I returned this afternoon and managed to see one of two arctic terns which had been present this morning. I don't know for sure, but given the time of year, perhaps these birds are also high arctic breeders rather than UK breeders, just like the ringed plover.
Thank god for rain - there you are, that's one more time.
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