Broom GPs - Wood sandpiper

Spring is doing its thing at Broom.  Today I made three visits narrowly missing out on finding newly arrived waders but revelling in the influx that we all enjoyed at this modest inland waterbody.

Bird of the day was undoubtedly the wood sandpiper that dropped in around lunchtime probably ten minutes after I had left for home after a quick mid-day visit.  It stayed for the rest of the day and was a typically impressive bird, the fifth I've seen here in just under two years.  This was on the back of seeing my first ever Broom greenshank that was tucked away in the bay on the southwest side of GLE.  The two oystercatcher remained.

The early visit was rewarded with a first hobby of the year at 6.30am shooting through and disappearing over the ploughed fields to the east.  It was the lunchtime visit where the hirundines were plentiful, around 40 sand martin, a pulse of 30 house martin, and seven swallow and 20 swift flying through.

A sedge warbler was singing in the hedgerow between GLE and GLW, and two willow warbler were in fine voice.

Five common snipe were feeding along the far shoreline at GLE when a surprising group of eight flew high over during a late vigil on a bright and still evening.

The two wigeon were still present, a shelduck settled on the water, and six boisterous common tern were present around the new wooden bar.