Reed Bunts

Reed Bunts - there seems to be a lot of them about at the moment, certainly more than last year, has anyone else noticed this?

There are at least 5-7 pairs at Druridge Pools and everywhere I have been in the last month or so I am seeing them. There were four at Ellington Pond today, we did a farm survey at Carraw Farm on Saturday and saw about five and the same number at Chibburn Mouth/ southern E. Chev on Friday and even on the flank of Hedgehope on my atlas tetrad.

Reed Bunts collecting nesting material at Druridge

I remember counting good numbers at E. Chev last year so it will be interesting to see how they compare this year. I hope they do well cos I really like reed bunts!

It was really foggy this morning, so we went to Druridge early to see if the fog had dropped anything in, it hadn't.

The pair of garganey and the little egret were still on the Budge fields. New patch ticks today were blackcap (male singing my Budge screen) and our second visit to the Budge screen, once the gloom had cleared a bit revealed an LRP, feeding on the nearside mud.

80 blackcap

81 little ringed plover