An Early Spring Visit to Abberton Reservoir and Landguard Point

6th April 2018

Still a bit early for large numbers of migrants, but worth a look at Abberton to see if there were any new arrivals.There had been a mass exodus from the Layer Breton causeway, not only the Smew but also most of the ducks and grebes as well. In fact one of the only birds at the water's edge was this Pied Wagtail.

The resrve itself didn't fair much better with only Rooks and Sky Larks on display. The Sky Larks were hard to photograph on the ground as they disappeared into the long grass, and so the only opportunity was to try and grab a flight shot.

So was Landguard Point in the teeth of a south-easterly wind any better? Well, to put it into perspective, I have never been to Landguard at this time of year and not seen a Wheatear!! Even the normally numerous Linnets were represented by no more than five individuals and the normally reliable Dunnocks and Robins seemed scarce.

So out on that enormous expanse of grassland which is normally home to Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Wheatears and hopefully a sprinkling of Ring ouzels, the only birds present was a single Oystercatcher and a pair of Ringed Plovers. Well, at least these were reasonably cooperative.