I've been checking the Budge fields for garganey but they're not back yet. Two or three chiffchaffs were back and singing today but no other new migrant passerines were added to the list. There are still 50-60 teal and wigeon on the fields - they'll be off soon.
Offshore, there were 22 red-breasted mergansers in the bay, I'll need to check my database but that could be a patch record count. Even more exciting than the mergs was a drake long-tailed duck, first picked up among some distant mergs then picked up flying north. It was a stunner, in full breeding nick.
Alongside the chiff and the 'old squaw' tree sparrow on Wednesday takes the patch list to 81 species for the year.
There were 4 Red-breasted Mergansers on the pool earlier in the week along with a circling and calling Avocet which initially landed on the pool for a couple of minutes before lifting then was on Budge Fields a few minutes later for all of 20 seconds before disappearing.
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