Lincolnshire

Started the day with a quick look at a muddy pool on the new Campus at Heslington where one of yesterdays Wood Sandpipers was still present this morning along with a Green Sand and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers. We then headed off over the Humber Bridge to Tetney Lock village where there were five Dotterels in fields nearby, they were a bit distant at first but we sat by the edge of the field and they eventually came reasonably close. There had been news that the Black Kite had been seen this morning near Louth so we decided to try for that next, the area it was in was just South West of Louth centred on a little place called Oxcombe, our first vantage point was near Farforth where birders there informed us the Kite had drifted off but they had just had the immature White Tailed Eagle that has been touring Lincs over the last few days, we watched from here for a while but nothing more than a few Buzzards got up so we eventually moved to where it was thought the Eagle had gone down, it was near a village called Ruckland and there were already quite a few birders there staking it out, after around 30 mins a shout went out as the bird flew up from behind the wood just in front of us and showed really well as it circled round fending off a Buzzard before drifting off. We hung around for a while and tried some different vantage points in the hope of seeing the Black Kite but it was not to be, we called in at Far Ings on the way back where a drake Garganey had been seen earlier in the day but there was no sign of it this evening although I year ticked Common Tern and Lesser Whitethroat.

The Wood Sand at Heslington this morning



just a bit too far away and the heat haze didn't help



bird of the day

being mobbed by the local Buzzard

circled around

before drifting off

the action took place above this wood