Gorgeous start to the day

The Safari was making a brew at work when we chance to look out of the window and saw this...

...wot a beauty!!!

Before we got out to Patch 2 we heard the calls of some Whooper Swans (P2 #30) going over, we raced to the window to see four flying over the wall and out to sea, they must have passed almost directly overhead.

We had booked the afternoon off thinking Wifey was off to the Big Smoke but that business trip wasn't necessary in the end but we still got an afternoon's safari-ing in. The plan was to go to the moss to look for the big flock of Whooper Swans which has been joined by a few Bewick's Swans. Sadly only a few Mute Swans were out in the fields, no idea where the 'proper' swans had gone. Lots of Pink Footed Geese were in the field behind us, none with neck collars and no odd-one-outs amongst them.

The local Stonechat (90) made a very brief appearance on the top of a dry Thistle stem and there were  at least 32 Golden Plovers with the many Lapwings beyond it. 18 Curlews were in the field on the other side of the track.

A Buzzard and a Kestrel were the raptor interest.

Then we called it at the nature reserve to see if the Iceland Gull would drop in - it didn't. We then had a wander round to see if the Long Eared Owls were showing, we'd been told there was one but we soon found the second.

On the way back to the hide we passed a Kestrel that refused to hover in the right position for a proper pic, so you'll have to put up with this bum shot.

Back to scanning the gulls and still nothing overly unusual, apart from a Herring Gull with white wing tips with little black in them but it was a normal shade of silvery grey and was in full sum plum, a 'northern' argentatus type should be darker and still have the dark head flecks almost hood-like in some individuals.

A Black Headed Gull almost crash landed

and a first winter Great Black Backed Gull dropped in for a quick wash and brush up.

 The ducks provided some interest but still no Green Winged Teal...just plenty of ordinary Teal.

The feral/escaped Bahama Pintail was very close to the hide.

 Back at Base Camp we had a look at what the Stealth-cam had found. Magpies, Woodpigeons and the little Long Tailed Field Mouse again.

It'll be back out again tonight.
Where to next? Back to just some more Patch 2 safari-ing tomorrow.
In the meantime let us know what wasn't where it should have been in your outback.