Above: Adult Little Egret, Brockholes Wetland LWT - 24th July 2009.
Above & below: Eclipse drake Garganey, Brockholes Wetland LWT - 24th July 2009.
Early morning on the Notts/Lincs border, the satnav told me that it was 104 miles to Salthouse, Norfolk, site of a Great Spotted Cuckoo the previous day and 135 miles to the local patch, Brockholes. It was five long days since my last visit to the patch, but I had only seen one GSC before, at Teesside in, I think, 1995, a long time ago, so it was a no-brainer.... and I arrived at Brockholes a few hours later!!
To be honest, I was kicking myself for much of the way for not twitching the GSC and it was a relief when it disappeared late morning, though i would have made it before. But the pull of the local patch prevailed!
Highlights were the continued presence of both the eclipse drake Garganey which was associating with a single Teal, and the Little Egret, which appeared on the Main Pool at 12:21. Both have been present for almost a week. Of interest, I was able to read the metal ring on an Oystercatcher on the Main Pool. Initial feedback indicates the bird was ringed at Bangor Harbour, North Wales, in Oct 2001. Three Gadwall on the Main pool should herald a regular presence at the site for the rest of the year.
