The Bog - Jay caught in flight

A random mooch around 'The Bog' didn't produce an awful lot although I did see my first Large Red Damselflies of the year! A Jay was fly-hopping through some scrub so I picked a spot where I guessed he would appear and my luck was in! Here's half a second's worth of action...

I was hoping for one of the burst to be free from clutter and it nearly was...

There wasn't a lot else and it was baking hot, an ice cream beckoned...

Venus Pool - Mandarin finale

Having spent nearly 14 hours here the previous (BIG) day, I wasn't exactly dashing down to the water with a spring in my step! And annoyingly (24 hours late) the first bird I clocked eyes on would have been useful - a drake Mandarin!

Looking drop dead gorgeous and lusting after every single female duck (sometimes male too !

A right royal display...

But this drake Gadwall was having none of it!

And neither was his missus...

And as the light was fading in the seriously slow shutter low light, I created this artistic masterpiece...

Or maybe I wasn't expecting a flight shot to happen...

Polemere - Yellow Wagtails

The mud is drying out at Polemere and a pair of Yellow Wagtails were in and out as I passed another quiet half hour of my life away...

The female was an especially striking bird with a really prominent supercilium which had me thinking it was a continental type / hybrid from the word go!

Eventually they both came in and landed much closer - the male, a straightforward M. flavissima...

The female... well I'm sure its not so straight forward and remembering the Blue-headed pair in the North of the County a few years ago, unlikely to impress the rarity committee..

I've often wondered what a female 'Channel' Wagtail would look like. Keep that white throat and swap the blue head for grey, there you go?!

Longmynd - Skylarks aplenty!

I seem to have quietened down on the twitch front but one day soon something may tempt me? Meanwhile with Shropshire's deflector shields keeping waders and decent stuff at bay, all I have is the summer visitors and residents to keep the shutter from seizing up...

So, Skylark is a bird I usually note is 'there' but with one or two parading around the car (whilst checking there were no Dots before my eyes) , here's a few pics of 'em!

Standard fare...

Walk-feeding...

The obligatory ruffle!

And in close-up...

You can see, like many creatures, birds are susceptible to parasites -ticks?!

I'll give this one a clean bill of health...

So for once, they aren't just a background melody, obliging birds in their own right!

Bridges - Flycatchers

A quick check of the brook near Bridges and the Darnford valley after the Longmynd turned up several Pied Flycatchers mostly males with a couple of females ...

Viewed from the rear...

Or obligingly head on...

Plus an early pair of Spotted Flycatchers always high up in the canopy!

Never mind Spring, a blast of Summer is imminent!

Polemere - Dunlin

A pretty good passage day saw absolutely nothing drop in at VP but Polemere at least had some mud on view and there you go, a Dunlin stopping off and keeping a Common Sandpiper company

Wish this moment had been closer!

They spent much of the time chasing each other around!

Save your energy for migration mate...

Longmynd - Whinchat and co.

Prime time for Dotterel on the Longmynd is usually 1st May + / - a few days so visits at this time of year can pay dividends. There were no Dotterel to be seen sadly but a freshly arrived female Whinchat was surely worth an image or two?

And whilst the light wasn't helpful early on, this male - one of a dozen or so Wheatear was briefly obliging!

But maybe the stars of the show for imagery were the humble Meadow Pipits, as the light improved dramatically!

Always on the go...

But once in a while pausing to look me in the eye!

I'll be back!