A day of passage at Pennington Flash

A fabulous start to September began when I found a wheatear on the ruck at 7am. It might not sound like much, but my first of the year at the flash was as recent as Wednesday and these two records are my first and second ever at the flash in autumn! 

Whilst walking around the ruck I heard the distinctive call of two tree pipits flying over and then the seven whistles of a whimbrel. The latter kept flying around the flash, occasionally looking like it might leave, before returning and looking like it might drop on the spit. A little later I called in at Horrock's hide and found the bird down on the spit, before it finally left at 9am.

Other highlights today included a great white egret and another juvenile black-necked grebe.

It just kept flying around calling!

Juvenile wheatear.

This great white egret has been seen at the flash on and off for two or three weeks but it's been hard to pin down and this was only my second sighting of the bird.